Live to Love
by soup4mepapi
Summary: Paul Lahote, the aggressive, hot-headed Quileute shape shifter imprints Briella McGeagh a quiet, reserved Irish/Scottish woman. She has a secret, a secret her family shares. How will Paul and Briella cope falling in love, and fighting a battle neither know of?
1. There She Goes

**Song for this chapter: There She Goes, None the Richer**

The grass was green. _Too _green.

Briella wrinkled her nose, images of Ireland flashing through her mind, making her roll her eyes as she shook her head at her memories.

She eyed her surroundings with calculating eyes, her dark eyes scanning every little detail.

La Push wasn't all that bad if you ignored the lack of large population, and large city. She didn't mind at all, really. Living in a small village far away from the city practically prepared her for this type of habitant.

She was used to it.

She threw her head back, closing her eyes as she took in a deep breath, sighing contently as the clear air filled her lungs.

This was just right.

She looked fondly up at the sky, grey clouds circling around the bright circle in the sky, its dimmed rays occasionally peeking out of the clouds.

Having been raised in a religious Catholic home, she believed in symbols. And right now, these rays were hope.

Perhaps, just maybe, things could be better this year.

Paul growled angrily, throwing away the stupid rusting piece of crap off his table.

Stupid Atlöe. Always had to go and fuck everything up.

Atlöe, his stupid co-worker in this stupid garage, always stole the ladies. He stole that Marie-slash-Mary chick from his grasp by practically flinging his work towards Paul.

That lazy fucker.

Paul let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes as he focused on controlling his shaking body before opening his eyes, calmer, and picking up the little rusting motor and setting to work.

"Yo, Paul!"

"Oh, Christ." Paul sighed, giving up on trying to control his temper, knowing that this kid would get a rise out of him.

Quil's grinning face appeared in front of him, "What's up?" he asked, nudging his arm in greeting as he sat next to him, "What'chu workin' on?"

"Cars. Isn't the 'Garage' sign outside obvious enough?" He deadpanned, not removing his eyes from his work.

"Ha-ha, smartass."

"Dumbass." Paul shot back, grinning slightly at their little personal joke.

Quil grinned again, his little dimples flashing, "Things are so boring now, you notice?"

"Boring?" Paul quirked a brow, turning only slightly towards his fellow pack mate.

"Yeah, like there's no action, no defenseless humans to protect, no recent imprinters imprinting on imprints. You know, that kind of thing." Quil shrugged, leaning his elbows on his seat and stretching his feet out.

"Well, for protectors, peace is actually a _good _thing, you know." Paul rolled his eyes, shaking his head at his friend's stupidity.

"I know, but that's the point! We _have_ to chase after something…" Quil shrugged again.

"What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you s'posed to be with Claire?" Paul scowled, deciding to change the subject once realizing Quil was right.

Quil's face fell, "She's out of town, visiting her aunts." He sighed.

Paul couldn't help but snicker at his misery. It was hilarious.

Quil scowled, punching Paul's arm, causing him to drop a screw. Paul turned to Quil menacingly, growling.

"Just wait until _you _imprint, Paul Lahote," Quil laughed, standing immediately when Paul threw his chair back as he stood, "You'll probably stalk her like Jared did to Kim."

Growls threated to erupt from Paul's throat as he stepped towards Quil.

"Or you'll probably be rejected by her like Sam and Emily," Quil continued, stepping back.

"Shut up, Quil."

"Or imprint on a baby like Jake and me." Quil taunted, knowing Paul wasn't allowed to hurt them because of his current punishment.

"And that's completely disgusting but everyone else is too polite to comment on both your situations." Paul decided to taunt Quil back rather than attack him like he knew Quil had assumed.

"You asshole!"

"Bitch." Paul shot back, smirking slightly as he sat back down, calmly picking up the screw from the floor and getting back to fixing the old little motor.

Quil scowled but stretched, letting out a huge yawn only these shape-shifters were capable of.

"Well, I gotta get home, Paul, I'll see you when I do." He clapped Paul's shoulder, purposely causing him to drop the screw again.

Paul turned to Quil with an are-you-fucking-kidding-me look. Quil grinned again, slamming the door behind him.

Paul was beginning to feel calmer. The silence and the faint smell of gasoline and rust always soothed him, remembering how his uncle and father used to teach him how to fix cars.

The sound of metal clinking and the feel of strong metal in his hands always calmed him.

But when he heard, "Man, Lord Jesus Christ!" he face-palmed himself.

Atlöe entered the garage, banging the door behind loudly like he always did.

Paul glared at him as he passed by but never stopped his hands from moving, continuing for his sake.

Atlöe opened the small refrigerator in the corner, getting out a Diet Coke and opening it with a loud hiss.

"Damn, that woman was freaky, I tell you, Paul. You should thank me for not letting you have her." Atlöe shuddered, shaking his head and shrugging as he chugged down the rest of the drink.

He was from LaPush, his descendants having been natives as well, but he did not know of shape-shifters nor had the genes been passed down to him.

Atlöe Pomeroy, half native and half British, was a twenty-year-old boy with European features. He had hazel eyes like his father and the pale skin as well. He inherited the Quileute dark hair and height.

He was tall, but not big like Paul or the other pack members nor as muscular.

He was not afraid of Paul, he was cautious of him at first…friendly, even. But after realizing that Paul was not going to hurt him (Paul would've beat him up a long time ago, but he knew he'd just end up in more trouble with Sam) he let show of the jerk he really was.

"Hey, you know this new family moved into this town?" he asked as he set the now empty bottle on the table. Paul simply glared at him, never removing his gaze from him as he set aside the motor and wiped his hands on his jeans, not caring that they got stained of grease.

"Can you believe it? This family moved to LaPush…Freakin' LaPush, man. I don't know what they were thinking." Atlöe shook his head, "I hear they're from Europe or something, that one chick I took told me."

Paul scowled at the mention of that one chick, the wolf stirring in disappointment at missing that one prey.

He stood and walked over to the water hose, rubbing his hands together as the cool water splashed on them.

"I hear they got like four daughters," Atlöe waggled his brows suggestively, "I think they arrived yesterday or some shit like that, I don't know, I just hear these things from secondary sources, you know."

Paul learned long ago that you'd be much happier if you didn't reply to Atlöe's retorts, he'd soon get bored and leave you alone.

"Perhaps we could get one to work here with us, eh? How's that sound to you, Paul?" Atlöe was asking just as Paul decided to leave early.

He slammed the door angrily behind him, having no pity in knowing that it suffered poor abuse of being slammed constantly.

He stalked off into the woods, his anger surfacing as his breath began to deepen and turn into angry gasps.

The wolf was now invigorated, wanting to be released after having had been so abruptly oppressed when Atlöe ended up taking the prey, so Paul complied.

He headed towards town.


	2. We Walk On Hell

"_**Never forget:**_

_**We walk on hell, **_

_**Gazing at flowers."**_

_**-Kobayashi Issa **_

Briella watched in fixed fascination as the ants scurried around anxiously, bumping into each other quickly and occasionally as they all struggled in panic as more and more ants joined in to help carry the orange slice she dropped.

Her eyes were crossed as they focused in to the ants, her arms folded neatly beneath her chin as she watched like a fascinated child.

She smiled, glancing up towards the grey sky as a fresh wind breezed by, causing goose bumps to appear on her arms. She loved this weather.

Her smile slowly faded away as she once again fixed her focus upon the struggling ants. She frowned in concentration as she watched the stressed ants. She brought the orange up to her lips, chewing thoughtfully.

She had always been fascinated by these little insects, even as a child. She hated it when they would bite her, but she loved that you could easily squish them with your finger. She was fascinated at their "team work" skills, frowning or smiling when they managed to carry their food safely home.

She froze when she heard a rustling sound.

But she kept her gaze on the ants, her gaze now frozen in alert and cautiousness. She felt her chest tighten as her heart struggled to beat fast in fear, her pulse rising.

She swallowed, but kept still, everything suddenly so much louder as she waited for another sound.

She held her breath when she a heard a loud huff, it sounded like an animal had sneezed…perhaps a coyote or mountain lion.

She turned slightly when she heard a bush so close to her rustle, her green eyes widening only slightly as she beheld the greatest animal she'd ever seen.

She could see the glossy russet-coloured fur burst out through the wet green of the background. It seemed to be a bear, the size was too large for any other animal, yet it seemed to be something else.

Briella held her breath as the strange animal sniffed at the bush, she tensed when she felt it stiffen, its breath stopping and the bush rustling slowly as it ducked its head to level with Briella's.

She turned fully but slowly, her eyes capturing the ones of the animal. She was surprised to meet warm, dark eyes, reminding her of a boy she met in France.

The animal was a wolf. An enormous wolf.

Briella swallowed her eyes now wide in awe. The creature was beautiful. Its glossy fur seemed to glow, its human-like eyes a warm black eyes gazing back into hers intently.

It sniffed at her, as if memorizing her. She kept still, not wanting the creature to leave nor attack.

Suddenly the wolf tensed up again, its eyes snapping towards something behind her, its eyes narrowing only slightly before glancing back down at her.

He let out a little huff, as if relieving its nose of her scent before turning its back on her and walking away, seeming to blend into the forest as it disappeared from her view.

Briella simply blinked for a moment, processing what had just happened, her heart still fraught to beat faster but failing as it began to quiver in struggle.

She winced but she focused her eyes on the ants, their scurrying movements entrancing her and calming her.

She continued to watch them for about thirty minutes more before she heard loud footsteps approach. She rolled her eyes, knowing who it was.

"Briella! You're wasting your time! Let's go, or I _shall _die!" Christina groaned loudly, marching up to Briella and nudging her side gently with her foot.

Christina was Briella's oldest sister. She was twenty years-old, her hair a syrup-coloured blonde, with dark hazel eyes and freckled skin inherited from her mother.

When their two younger brothers weren't around to pick on, she would seek out Briella.

But Briella kept her concentrated gaze on the ants, frowning only slightly as she replied, "So then die."

"…You're the meanest woman I've met." Christina gasped dramatically, her hazel eyes widening comically.

Briella suppressed her grin, glancing up at her sister before they both burst into giggles. Christina held her hand out to help her sister up; Briella threw down the rest of the orange to the ants, making them scatter in panic before scurrying back towards the orange in hurried anxiety.

Briella clapped her hands against her thighs to wipe off the orange juice off her fingers, her hands sticky and smelling of orange perfume. "Where to, dearest?" Briella asked in mock formality as she and her sister linked arms and walked towards home.

Christina turned slowly towards her sister, a smirk on her face as she pointed her finger towards the heavens and cried, "The Batmobile!" before running off, causing Briella to chuckle before racing off after her sister.

"I believe you must've forgotten, Christi, that you're currently and temporarily banned from driving your vehicle. Therefore, we have no Batmobile." Briella smirked when they made it home, both of them panting, their breaths visible in the cold air.

"Oh, Joseph and Mary, you're right!" Christina groaned, leaning her hands on her thighs as she bent over to catch her breath.

"What the _feck_ is the matter with you two? You look like you had a ghost at yer tails! What were yous thinkin', running in this weather? You'll die o' a cold! Get in right now, yous two!" A voice snapped loudly, the voice thick with a Scottish accent.

Their mother, Dianna was a vulgar and scandalous woman. She cursed like a sailor and had the devil's temper. She often spoke in proverbs, lecturing her children, a complete irony compared to her vicious personality.

She was a blonde, hazel-eyed Scottish native, standing up only to 5 feet and three inches.

"Sorry, ma." They both muttered, ducking their heads as they entered the house and past their mother.

Their mother scowled at them, lightly swatting the back of Briella's head as she passed her.

"No doubt it were you who got caught up with nature; I swear you were born fer it! By Christ, sit down yous two, I'll serve the dinner." Dianda scowled, patting their heads as she helped them hang their coats.

"How are my two goms?" their father cooed as he entered the house, kissing his daughters' cheeks before embracing his wife.

Their father, Shaun, was an Irish man with black hair and green eyes. He was an enormous man, his height inherited from his Italian mother, standing up to 6 feet and ten inches. He was a quiet, reserved man, calm and serene compared to his wife.

"Hmph! And to think these are only two out o' our four!" His wife scowled but blushed at his kiss, "Where are those two jackeens?" she crowed as her hazel eyes scanned the kitchen like a hawk for any sign of the two missing trouble makers.

"Those two wouldn't be such gurs if you didn't pest 'em often, ma!" Christina scowled, causing her mother to turn to her angrily, her hands on her hips as she prepared to snap back.

The two missing 'goms' were their little brothers, Conor and Stiofán.

Conor and Stiofán were twins; they were twelve years of age.

Both had blonde shaggy locks and mischievous green eyes and whimsical, freckled faces.

They were thick as thieves, those two.

"Hmph! There you two are! Wash up fer dinner, boys, I won't have you two sittin' at me table with those dirty-lookin' faces!" Dianna scolded as her sons came in through the door, their pale cheeks now pink with cold.

"Sorry, ma! This little gobdaw was just a-foosterin' about!" Conor swatted Stiofán's head, causing him to scowl. "A-bup-bup! Don't give me any of yer guff, just wash up and eat!" Dianna snapped, waving them towards the bathroom.

"How's LaPush treatin' us?" Shaun asked once they were done praying for their food, serving his wife's plate. "I like it!" Stiofán piped up, his grin alight with excitement, "I hear there's wolves here!"

"Oh, may the light of heaven shine on yer grave!" Dianna sighed exasperatedly, rolling her eyes.

Stiofán scowled, "It's true! Isn't that right, Conor? Our neighbor's boy told us! They've seen them around often, too!"

Conor nodded vigorously in agreement, unable to verbally do so since his mouth was full of food.

But Briella kept quiet about the wolf she saw, wanting to avoid dispute with her mother.

"Well, you make sure to stay away from that forest from now on, you hear that, Briella?" Dianna scolded her from across the table, "And please, no elbows on the table!" "Sorry, ma." Briella blushed sheepishly.

"_**May the rocks in your road turn to gold."**_

_**-Irish Proverb**_

Paul rolled his eyes once his back was turned towards the girl. He had forgotten her name immediately after she told him what it was.

This was typical, and he was good at handling it.

"You'll call me, right?" she attempted a purr, practically sprawling herself on his back as he leaned over to tie his shoes.

"Hm." He grumbled simply, tensing under her touch, wanting nothing more but to rip her off him. "You can call me for whatever you need, Pauly." She sighed contently, pressing her cheek against his shoulder, snaking her arms around his waist.

He rolled his eyes, knowing she was doing this just to feel his abs.

…Slut.

But he smirked anyway.

He stood, causing her to stumble unto the bed once more. She frowned but got up too, she handed him his jacket.

He snatched it out of her hands.

"…Wasn't I good?" she practically begged like a child seeking approval. He simply stared at her.

This was what he hated. They always begged, always asked what they did wrong, always wanted to know what they could've possibly done to set him off.

But this was just him.

Her eyes were a little watery, he could smell the faint salt of her tears, her hair was a mess after all the tugging he had done to it.

He simply turned away, shrugging his coat on (it was unnecessary though, his wolf temperature was enough to keep him warm but he loved this jacket and did not appreciate this girl touching it).

She stood hastily, walking over to him, carefully wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his chest, trying to feel comforted and wanting him to hold her in return.

He simply waited until she pulled away. "See you later." She sniffled angrily, shoving the door open, now angered by his coldness.

He simply nodded in thanks before walking out; ignoring that she slammed the door behind him.

He never understood why he did this.

Sure, he knew it was wrong of him to abuse of good looks and advantage over women but he couldn't help it sometimes.

The wolf was like a second person in his head, egging him on to pursue whatever it begged.

Whether it was hunting random vampires or having mindless sex, he had to obey. Sam and Jared always said that he could fight the darkness of their nature, but he knew deep down inside that it wasn't just the wolf, it was him as well.

But these were things he would never confess to the pack, nor verbally nor in thought, so he never commented on the subject again.

It made him feel bad sometimes, taking advantage of a woman like he did, but he just always did it.

As a young teen he would pursue this to relieve himself from the anger that just always seemed to be buried deep inside, and now that the anger was frozen (thanks to Sam whom always encouraged him to control his anger), practically branded into his heart, he did it just out of habit.

He knew he could always imprint, but the thought disgusted him sometimes.

What if he imprinted on a child like Quil and Jake? Wouldn't that make him a pedophile? Didn't that make Quil and Jake pedophiles?

He snickered at the thought.

But other times (most of the times) he usually just dismissed the thought. He never quite understood how Sam, Jared, Quil, Jake, and Collin could handle the 'pull' towards the imprint.

It was fucking ridiculous.

"Hey, Pauly-yo!" Atlöe's annoying, half-accented voice rang in Paul's ears when he entered the garage, giving him a headache.

Paul rolled his eyes.

"Bitch." He cursed lowly, tossing his jacket on a nearby chair and getting out his tools.

"Hey, man, how's it going? Fuck, dude, I just got back from John's lumberyard, you know John right? The tall scary dude with that one messed up eye? Yeah, well he says that Becky was out with some dude, right? You know Becky, right? The one with the re-"

Paul closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths and mentally counting to ten, but Atlöe's annoying voice just always seemed to slice right through his thoughts.

"Man, I told you that woman was a bitch! Talkin' like that to Neddy, poor Neddy. But he was a little bitch sometimes, to-"

Paul acted out of instinct, the wolf wanting nothing more than to just punch Atlöe senseless.

He knocked his table over, appearing in front of Atlöe in two angry strides.

He grabbed Atlöe's shirt-collar with only one fist, slamming his back against a wall. He raised his fisted hand in warning, "If you don't shut the _fuck _up right _now_, I will fucking rip your goddamn teeth out." He threatened quietly through clenched teeth.

Atlöe's eyes were wide but Paul was vexed to realize that Atlöe wasn't radiating any true fear.

Atlöe was used to this now.

As much as Paul hated to admit it, Atlöe was a fearless bastard. He was used to Paul's little outbursts and short temper but he knew Paul would never _actually_ rip his goddamn teeth out.

"Calm the fuck down, man! What's up? Was it a girl that got you into this mood? I knew it! Man, Paul, you gotta learn, dude! If you talk nice to a lady she'll go straight to your bed, man! You're always so hostile towards girls, you know that, Paul? You're real, real rude sometimes. Completely puzzles me, man." Atlöe shook his head, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Paul had just threatened him with raised fists.

Paul was trembling now, his body shaking with each tremble vibrating through his bones.

He released Atlöe with an angry shove, his back connecting with the wall with a loud _thump_!

"Ey, man, that fucking hurt!" Atlöe protested angrily as Paul walked towards the other side of the garage, angrily punching at a nearby tool cabinet.

"Ah, that fucking son of a bitch." Atlöe sighed as he shook his head, kneeling down to pick up the mess Paul caused when he threw his table over, "He gotta learn!"

Paul stayed over there, not wanting to risk losing it in front of Atlöe, knowing Sam would definitely screw him over if he Atlöe were to figure anything out.

"Now, you think about what you have done!" Atlöe scolded Paul mockingly.

Paul glared daggers at his head, comforting himself in the thought that perhaps one day Atlöe would do something bad enough to deserve a real punch in the face.

They both turned when they heard an accented voice ask, "Is this Jones' Garage?"

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact, this indeed is Jones' Garage." Atlöe smiled that whimsical smile of his, "Hello there, welcome to Jones' Garage. How may I help you since my partner is currently disabled?"

The woman seemed to be in her late-thirties or early-forties. She had blonde hair with hazel eyes and pale, freckled cheeks.

She gave Atlöe a strange look but handed him a piece of paper, "My husband needs all those fer his car." She said, her voice containing a beautiful accented lilt.

"Say, ma'am, where you from?" Atlöe asked curiously, smiling at the accent. The woman tossed her blonde head, "I'm a Scottish woman and proud o' it! I was born and made in Edinburgh."

"I'm Atlöe Pomeroy, you must be Mrs. McGeagh." Atlöe extended his hand for a shake.

"So the boy _does_ have manners." Paul chuckled quietly to himself at Atlöe's display of politeness.

Mrs. McGeagh shook his hand, her chubby little fingers holding a firm grip. Paul could tell from where he was.

"Pleased t' meet'cha, Mr. Pomeroy, I sincerely hope that you get to my husband's list, he needs those thingeys soon." She nodded, waving her hand towards the list in Atlöe's hand.

"I'll get right to it, ma'am," Atlöenodded obediently, "Thank you for coming by." "Thank yer fer yer help, young sleeveen, I'll come by when they're ready to be picked up." She nodded, shaking his hand once more and leaving the garage.

"What the fuck was that, Pomeroy?" Paul demanded from where he was.

Atlöe waggled his eyebrows suggestively; "If the mom likes you then she'll introduce you to her daughters…" he trailed off, shrugging.

Paul shook his head in disgust. "You're a bastard."


	3. Great Hate, Great Love

"_**Great hate follows with great love."**_

_**-Irish Quotes**_

Briella was walking slowly along the edge of the street sidewalk, gazing up at the trees, their swaying branches mesmerizing her.

"Make sure yeh don' fall, little darling." Dianna warned, glancing at her daughter, "Yeh look strange, too, walkin' that way, you know what I mean like?"

Briella had her arms out, balancing herself as she walked carefully on the edge of the sidewalk while her mother walked on the sidewalk.

She sighed, slowing down a little after nearly tripping on air.

"Mama, what do you think 'bout this?" Briella asked her mother quietly, never removing her gaze from the trees above her.

"LaPush?" Dianna asked, glancing towards her daughter.

Briella frowned, nodding.

Dianna sighed, glancing up towards the sky, "It's good fer yer papa, Briella, it's a good opportunity fer us as well. P'raps we could start anew as a family here, d'you know what I mean like? But I still miss home." Dianna looked up at her daughter, her eyes sad.

Dianna was rarely this emotional; this was as emotional as Briella had ever seen her mother get.

Briella knew that when her mother was this way, it was best not to get teary-eyed and sentimental. Dianna hated crying.

Briella nodded her head in understanding, "P'raps we could go back right after as papa is done here." She suggested, moving over to walk on the sidewalk, beside her mother.

"He'll be done in four more years, lassie, but we'll visit soon, yeah?" Dianna smiled, wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulder as they sat on an old bench.

They took in the scenery.

The green trees, the damp green grass, the cloudy sunless sky, and the fresh cold air; it was beautiful.

"This is so much like home, really, like." Dianna chuckled softly.

"Sans the sheep of course. You cannot get rid of sheep over at home." Briella added, the mother and daughter sharing a glance before bursting out laughing.

"Yeh know, I'm also hopin' Christina will get h'self a good feen here!" Dianna confessed after wiping the tears from her eyes.

Briella whipped her head around to stare at her mother in surprise.

"Mama!"

Dianna simply shrugged shamelessly, "What? I'm a mother, I can hope!"

Briella laughed aloud, her mother joining her.

"But!" Dianna sighed, "Me thinks you'll get one first. My Christi is too strong and witty for some foosherin' knob-head, and heaven knows this world is a-wile wit' them! But you," Dianna looked up at her daughter with pride in her eyes, "You'll get a truly good ride."

"Why do you say that?" Briella asked quietly.

"That's what yeh are, darling! Yeh are truly good lass like! Only a good lass can attract a good feen, and not a knob-head, heaven forbid!"

"I doubt this LaPush High School is full of any 'knog-heads' like!" Briella teased, imitating her mother's exaggerated accent and slang, "So let's pray to Mary I get a good feen like!"

Dianna scowled, knowing well how her daughter wasn't as vulgar as the rest of her family, "Oh, hey, come off it, hi!"

They both stayed silent for a minute, the occasional sound of cars driving by interrupting their peace.

"Mama, d'you s'pose we'll be …safer here?" Briella asked timidly.

Dianna frowned, never removing her gaze from the street before her.

Dianna O'Brien was descendant of a long race of shifters.

But her ancestors 'mixed' with humans, and their children, no longer having the pure talent of shifting into an animal because of the human in them, were possessed every full moon.

Their mind was possessed by an animal.

Shaun, coming from the McGeagh family, held no such talent, along with their eldest child Christina.

Stiofán and Conor were too young to tell if they were to inherit the Gift of the O'Brien, so that left only Dianna and Briella.

If it was strange for the O'Brien gift to come along with a "side-effect", it definitely brought one along when Briella's gift was developed.

Briella had a rheumatic flu when she was six, having her O'Brien gift developed a month after recuperation. A year later, she was diagnosed with a heart rhythm disorder.

And it wasn't pretty.

Depending on the person's mental capacity, the possession wouldn't last too long nor was it too dangerous or serious. But it was always bad no matter what.

In Ireland, Shaun had built cells in their basement to lock Dianna and Briella there every full moon…this possession was sort of like a werewolf transformation sans the hair.

Briella kept her intent gaze on her mother, her face holding the expression a child seeking assurance would have.

Dianna glanced up at her daughter, her heart sincerely hoping everything would turn out alright for her.

"P'raps we'll be okay." Dianna murmured.

A shriek was what awoke the McGeagh house.

Shaun and Dianna leapt out of bed, racing to their bedroom door and sprinting down the hall towards where the scream came from.

Christina and the twins came out of their room and stood in the hall, the three of them in their pajamas, their eyes wide and their faces pale as they tried to imagine what could've happened.

Shaun kicked Briella's door open, "What? What's happened? Where's the trouble?" he demanded upon entering.

Briella was standing on her desk chair, one hand on her chest to calm her beating heart and the other pointing towards the ground, "It crawled under the bed, papa!"

Dianna and Shaun relaxed; relieved to realize it was no real danger, just a bug.

"What the _feck_ are you babbling about?" Christina scowled, angry for having had been frightened, walking into her sister's room just as their mother was helping Briella down.

"I h-h-had just g-gotten out of t-th-the ba-bath-" Briella had began to explain, her racing heart causing her to stutter.

"Yer frightened by a bug, Briella, come off it!" Stiofán snickered from where he stood next to his oldest sister.

"Shh, calm down, darling. Calm down first, I'll squish whatever bug it is and th-" Shaun was interrupted when both Dianna and Briella shrieked, jumping back and holding onto each other.

"Kill it, Shaun!" Dianna screamed as the brown little roach crawled out anxiously from under the bed.

Shaun grabbed the object nearest to him, mercilessly slamming it down onto the poor insect, leaving its colorless guts and antennas squashed on the wooden floor.

"Success!" Shaun beamed up at his frightened wife and daughter. "Oh, thank you, papa!" Briella hugged her father, avoiding the guts on the floor.

"Some brave woman _you_ are!" Shaun teased his wife when she embraced him, feeling her racing heart against his chest.

"Oh blast you to hell!" Dianna scowled, blushing as she playfully swatting her husband's arm, "Stiofán, clean this up. Conor, yeh help yer brother. Let's all just get back to sleep!"

Dianna walked over to her daughter, kissing her head and murmuring, "May the angels guard you."

"May the angels guard you, mama." Briella murmured back.

"I think this was the highlight of my day hi!" Christina chirped sarcastically as she walked out of her sister's room.

"Oh, Christina, you old muppet." Dianna laughed, shaking her head as she and her husband followed their daughter out of the door.

"This is disgusting!" Conor made a face as they wiped the roach off Briella's bedroom floor.

"Thank you, Stiofán. Thank you, Conor, sleep well." Briella kissed each of their heads before leading them out of her bedroom.

"Don't be frightened, 'iella," Conor patted his sister's arm, "Stiofán and I are excellent hunters!"

"Yeah, yer about as useful as a Kerry man with a hurley." Stiofán teased his brother.

"Stiofán!" Briella gasped in surprise before laughing, "Get on, you two, out of my room!" she gently pushed them out of her bedroom.

"G'night!" they both called before going off into their own bedrooms.

As soon as she shut the door of her bedroom, she sat on the small stool in front of her dresser, taking in deep, careful breaths to calm her erratic heart.

She closed her eyes, exhaling before opening her eyes, squaring her shoulders and grabbing the brush and carefully brushing her hair.

She gazed at her reflection, studying her features, her irregular-beating heart swelling in pride at the beauty she inherited from her parents.

She inherited her father's dark hair and her O'Brien grandmother's green eyes, although her skin wasn't as pale as her mother's and Christina's, nor did she have freckles like her brothers, she was beautiful.

Her height was slightly below average, she was 5'3 in height and weighed a healthy 110 pounds.

She turned her head, gazing at her face from that angle.

Out of everyone in her family, Briella was the quiet one. She wasn't defiant and bold like Christina, or loud-mouthed and vicious like her mother, or cool and rational like her father, or mischievous and witty like her twin brothers.

She turned her head to the other side.

Her vocabulary was more of an English type of vocabulary, never using the typical Irish slang her family did; Christina used to tease her about it, calling her a 'cock-up' (which meant 'screw-up' in British slang), telling her that she came out more British than Irish.

Briella turned back to the mirror, smiling fleetingly to her reflection.

Briella was committed and patient, a rare trait in the McGeagh/O'Brien families; although Dianna would say Briella could've possibly gotten it from her great-great-great grandmother Aine O'Brien.

She stood, rubbing her arms as she walked to her window and glanced out.

The shadow of the trees looming over her window were pitch black, frightening but beautiful, so like home.

The wind caressing the tree's leaves howled gently, adding a little eerie effect to the sight of Briella lighting a candle.

She carefully kneeled before her bed, still paranoid and thinking another roach would crawl out any moment.

She inhaled sharply when her knees came to contact with the cold wooden floor but gritted her teeth and focused.

She clasped her hands together and bowed her head, "Watch, oh Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give Your Angels and Saints charge over those who sleep. Amen."

She finished her prayer by doing the crucifix sign and kissing index and thumb, blowing the candle out before leaping into her bed, snuggling deep into the blankets as she got comfortable.

She nuzzled her head against her pillow, still smelling of fresh wind and cold air, reminding her of Ireland.

She froze when she heard a distant howl.

Wolves.

She rolled her eyes when she noted how fast her heart was beating, feeling silly for being scared.

"Wolves can't crawl under your bed, Briella!" she scolded herself, closing her eyes and falling asleep, but not before hearing another wolf howl in response to the previous one.

It sounded much closer.


	4. You Have No Time To Love

"_**If you judge people, you have no time to love them." **_

_**-Mother Teresa **_

It was cold, the green mountains in LaPush hovered by a grey fog, the cloudless sky darkening under a dull sun as birds flew occasionally over the heap of green, wet trees.

The LaPush pack was standing at the border between LaPush and Forks, murmuring anxiously amongst each other, eager to hear what news they were about to receive.

A snarl erupted from a few of the pack members upon catching sight of the pale, bronze-haired man walking towards them.

"What the fuck are you doing here, leech?" Paul sneered upon seeing the golden-eyed vampire standing at the border.

"Paul!" Jacob hissed in warning before turning towards Edward, "What's up?"

"There was a scent caught in Seattle. About four vampires, Bella and Alice caught a whiff of the scent last night in the mall." Edward explained, his eyes wide and his hands clenched into fists at his side, "Alice is having trouble seeing them."

"Shit!" Jacob swore, swiping one hand over his face, his eyes exhausted of all the intense patrols they've done over the month, "Do you think this is bad?"

"Well, we'll find that out once we know what these vampires want." Edward sighed.

"Well, shit. We'll have to intensify the patrols, take shifts, and we'll split the pack. Sam," Sam stepped forward upon hearing his name being called, "You, Jared, Collin, Seth, and Leah will be-"

"Oh, hell no!" They heard an outraged cry come from the woods.

They turned just in time to see Leah stalking out of the woods, marching angrily towards Jacob, "I'm not going with Sam! I'm _your _Beta and I'm staying with you!" She snarled into Jacob's face.

"Stop being such a whiny bitch, Leah, just do what Jake says!" Paul snarled, stepping forward.

A tremor ran through Leah's body, growling loudly before lunging towards Paul but being stopped by Brady, who stepped forward in time to stop her.

"Leah," Jacob sighed, his tone sounding more like a pleading friend than an ordering Alpha, "please, I'd feel so much more at peace knowing they have you on their side of the pack."

Leah straightened up, the intense of her glare dying when she glanced up at Jacob before pointing her trembling finger right into Paul's face, "You take care of our Alpha, you bastard!"

"Enough, Leah!" Sam growled quietly.

"Emmet, Jasper and I will keep you updated on whatever else we find out. Renesmee will probably be spending a lot more time here with Emily, Bella and I don't want her anywhere near immediate danger." Edward continued, the frown between his brows deepening.

Sam nodded, "I'm sure Emily wouldn't mind."

Jacob and Sam turned, walking away, Jacob giving Sam instructions while Leah gazed after them somewhat dejectedly.

"Leah," Edward murmured, knowing she'd hear him, "Don't worry about Jacob, he's strong and he'll be okay. Just do your best anyway, Jacob respects you anyway."

Leah simply glanced towards Edward, _"Quit prodding through my fucking head, you creep!"_

Edward chuckled, "I'll keep you updated!" he called once again before getting into his car and driving away.

He knew Leah didn't really mean her insults towards them anymore; she respected Carlisle and grew fond of Esme and Rosalie.

"How's your BFF Edward?" Paul sneered when Leah walked towards them at the beach.

"Fuck off, Paul." She snapped, sitting down stiffly, her clenched fists beginning to tremble.

"I must say, though, I'm surprised you befriended them. I thought you hated them as much as I did." He continued to mock.

"I said FUCK. OFF!" She yelled this time.

"Give it a rest, you two!" Jared snapped.

Leah tossed her head with a loud "hmph!" while Paul simply shrugged and lied himself down on the damp sand.

The sky was darkening, a perfect example of light going to dark, and the stars beginning to peek out from the lightest part of the sky. It was beautiful.

Sometimes, if he was quiet enough, he could hear his own heart beating in time with the waves.

But that obviously wasn't going to happen; the constant brawling of the pack was practically ringing in his ears until he went to bed, so used to having their voices in his ears and head.

"Ah, fuck it." He sighed as he got up, dusting the sand off his shorts before running off into the woods and shifting upon entrance.

He sniffed the air, checking for anything interesting. He caught a whiff of a strange smell, it smelled very…pure.

It was a clean scent, neither vampire nor werewolf, it was…human. Paul couldn't remember the last time he had smelled a human's scent if it wasn't outside the woods.

It was strangely…refreshing.

Paul ran carefully and silently, fully intending to check on the human and just leave.

He froze where he was when he saw two blonde heads and heard faint giggling.

The laughter was innocent and pure, Paul noted somewhat bitterly.

It sounded like a child's laughter.

_What the fuck are they doing so deep into the woods?_ He growled in annoyance.

They were hovering over a little stream, Blonde No. 1 cupping his hands in the opposite direction of the water in order to catch something while Blonde No. 2 piled small twigs and leaves, perhaps building a little dam.

Suddenly, one of the blondes stood up, pointing down at his brother in accusation.

They were twins, identical twins.

Paul snorted quietly.

He remembered he had always wished he had a twin brother when he was a child, begging his mother to have twins and she'd laugh and deny his request.

As the two blondes bickered, Paul felt someone enter his mind.

"_What are you doing creeping up on children, you pedo?" _Seth accused jokingly.

"_Oh, shut the fuck up! I just thought it was strange to catch their scent this deep into the woods, I just came to check what it was." _Paul explained in annoyance.

"_Who do they belong to?" _Seth wondered.

"_Probably to that new family that moved in. I think they were somewhere from Europe." _Paul scowled at the memory of where he had gotten this information.

"_Ew, okay, enough. That's disgusting; you just have to keep on ruining my innocence, huh?" _

"What _innocence?" _Paul scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Blonde No. 1 shoved Blonde No. 2, scolding him loudly, "Yeh have t' be so clumsy, hi! Now we have t' begin all over again!"

"Come off it, ye dope, like!" Blonde No. 2 snapped, shoving him back.

"Get the feck off, Conor, there's a smell o' neglect off ye!" Blonde No. 1 shot back, staring at his brother in disgust.

"Might be from this wee little _manky,_ _swampy stream _we've been a-pickin' at fer !" Blonde No.2 growled as-a-matter-of-factly, snapping his teeth as he advanced towards his twin.

"Enough, you two!" came in another voice, it was male and older.

A tall brown-haired man came into view, grabbing each kid by the shoulder and separating them just as they lunged at each other.

"Curse of the seven snotty orphans on ye!" Their father scolded them, shaking them, "Ye two be patient like you two rarely ever are, and start anew! Besides, we have to head home soon; I say yeh get yer stuff and follow me."

"Ara cod? Are ye serious?" Blonde No. 2 whined while Blonde No. 1 stomped his foot angrily.

"Enough of yer foosherin' and on we go!" Their father sighed, "We'll be meeting Briella and yer mama down the road, anyway."

"_I swear I didn't even get a word either of them said." _Seth deadpanned.

The twins' father kept his hand on their shoulder protectively as they walked further away and out of sight, glancing cautiously behind them, his eyes glancing so close to where Paul and Seth were.

"_They're probably Scottish or Irish." _Paul agreed, turning away, bored.

"_Hey, where you goin'?" _Seth asked.

"_What are you? My mother?" _Paul sneered.

Seth sighed, _"No, I mean, what are you doing? Won't you go back to the beach and join us?" _

"_We'll probably have a mess and lot of patrols to do when we find out what those vampires want; can't I at least have some peace?" _Paul snapped.

"_Whoa, sorry. I guess you're right. See ya when I do!" _And with that said, Seth was gone from his mind.

"_Finally some peace!" _Paul sighed in relief before shifting and immediately pulling his shorts up, heading towards town.


	5. Great Deal of Mess

"_**Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby – awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess." **_

_**Lemony Snicket, **__**Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid**_

Briella was eyeing the school suspiciously with critical eyes; she knew Christina was doing the same. "You sure this school is safe?" Briella asked skeptically.

"Well what else d'you expect from this god-forsaken reservation?" Christina scoffed bitterly, "My little brothers ca' even g'a good fuckin' education!"

"Not with a sister who has a tongue like yers, no." Dianna snapped, swatting her daughter's head before getting off the car with her twin children.

"Wonder who she got it from." Stiofán muttered to Conor, who snickered. "Enough of ye!" Dianna scowled but blushed sheepishly.

"Ye two behave, now, ye hear? I'll be out in a minute." Dianna told her children as she led Conor and Stiofán into LaPush Middle School.

"That school _does _look horrible." Briella murmured, agreeing with Christina's previous comment. "I tell ye, those brothers o' ours will rot in _that _school." Christina said flatly, glaring at the school and children entering the building.

"I guess it's a good thing we graduated before we came here." Briella chuckled quietly, never removing her gaze from the little drop of rain scurrying down her window.

"Le's just hope we get a good job here, like." Christina rolled her eyes, stretching her arm back to have her sister hold her hand.

Briella smiled, taking her sister's hand and squeezing, loving the assuring feeling she got.

"We'll be okay, wee lamb." Christina told her little sister, smiling at the nickname she had grown used to giving Briella, "Ye will be all fine here. Just fine."

They were silent a moment, Briella's gaze focused on the little raindrops scurrying down her window, pretending that two specific little raindrops were in a competition of who got to the bottom first.

"Woah, will ye look at tha' fine piece of cake?" Christina whistled suddenly, leaning forward to get a better look.

Briella turned, a dreamy sort of look in her green eyes as she looked towards where her sister was looking.

She couldn't really make out the features, but the body was that of a god's.

The man was tall, impossibly tall, and perhaps even taller than her father. He had dark russet skin, like most of the people living on the small reservation, and dark hair. It was cropped short, she could tell from where she was, and she could make out dark eyes in that strong face and a small, black earring on his right ear.

He was wearing no jacket, his white T-shirt tight on his body, revealing a muscular set of arms and a sort of tattoo on his left shoulder. He patted a girl on her head, ruffling her hair as he knelt down so he was in eye-level with her, speaking to her. She nodded and kissed his cheek before running off to catch up with her friends.

The man stayed in that same position for a moment longer, staring after the young girl before standing.

As if sensing two pairs of eyes ogling him, he turned, looking directly at Briella.

Although Christina was the one doing most of the ogling and Briella just observing, him looking towards her caused her to blush and look away.

"Who knew reservation lads were so fine!" Christina snickered, catching her sister's blush through the rearview mirror.

"Will ye two please just stop ogling tha' poor man and just open the frickin' door?" Dianna begged as she knocked on Christina's window, noticing the glazed looks on both of her daughters' eyes.

"It's normal for us t' ogle, mum! We might as well just get used t' the town." Christina retorted but blushed anyway.

"How are Conor and Stiofán?" Briella asked, "Is the school alright?"

Dianna smiled at her daughter, "Always concerned, ye. Well, they're alright, th' administrator was okay, too. Too blonde in my opinion."

"Mum, yer blonde." Christina deadpanned. "But not _too _blonde!" Dianna shot back, patting her braided cameo before nodding towards the road, "Well, will we leave?"

"Oh, keep the head!" Christina laughed, turning on the car.

As they drove away, Briella glanced back at the school, hoping everything would go just fine with Conor and Stiofán.

She glanced back when she made sure her mother and sister were deep in their conversation. She turned just as the man was getting into his car and driving out.

**Paul's POV**

"I'm so sleepy!" Claire yawned, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"We're almost there, lady." I chuckled, glancing over at her.

"Are we even there yet? Honestly, how far away _is _it?" She whined, glaring up at me as if though it was my fault we had so much traffic.

"Oh, shu-ush," I said in time to keep myself from telling her 'shut up' (as Quil had forbade me to say in front of her).

"Don't think you're the only one who's tired of this fucking traffic." I muttered, glaring at the car in front of me.

"I think we're having those new students arriving today." Claire yawned, stretching her arm out the window. I immediately reached over and shoved her arm back in, knowing Quil would go berserk if he found out about me letting Claire get herself into such 'danger'.

"How interesting." I said through clenched teeth, closing her window and putting it on Child Lock. Sheesh! It was like freakin' babysitting with this kid!

"They're from Ireland or Scotland, I forgot, somewhere from Europe. Are all Irish people redheads? Are all Scottish people blondies? Why is the world so cruel?" She wondered aloud.

"Kid," I sighed, looking down at her.

She looked up at me with her brown eyes wide, as if she would hold on to any word I said.

"You have no idea how cruel this world can be." I finished.

"Yes, I do." She said gravely, "Yesterday, Neera decided she didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"That's…too bad." I said simply, assuming perhaps it was just a childish dispute between the two eleven-year olds.

"She also called me a twig, and a stupid, motherless brat." She added quietly, ducking her head as I heard her try to keep her sniffles quiet.

I clenched my trembling fists.

Claire's mother had abandoned her when her father divorced her, going off for a 'vacation' to recover from her loss and never coming back, leaving Claire to Emily and Sam.

Claire was only four.

Four fucking years old.

Somehow I ended up promising Quil I'd help the Uley's raise his imprint.

"That fuc-" I stopped myself on time, my eyes wide as I stared down at Claire, wondering if she knew what I was going to say.

But she just glanced towards me, a frown on her forehead, and the space between her eyebrows wrinkled in thought.

"Well," I swallowed down all the swear words that were threatening to spill out of my mouth, wanting to insult that bitchy little brat for hurting Claire's feeling, "You're much better than that, you don't deserve those type of people in your life."

"But why would she say such a mean thing to me? I was her friend!" Claire protested, her voice wavering.

"Baby, maybe your friend was jealous, maybe she was just speaking out of anger because her life is cruel too, but you can't let yourself feel bad for what others say about you. You'll only end up sad and miserable." I said, keeping my tone calm and even to conceal the anger I felt inside, "Does that sound like a fabulous life to you?"

"No." She whispered gravely like it was the absolute truth, her brown eyes wide as she looked up at me.

"Then never mind what that Neera girl said." I said simply, keeping my gaze on the road as we advanced forward slowly.

Some cars behind us starting honking at us, this middle-aged man even flicked me off as he sped by.

"Fuck you!"

I clenched my jaw, keeping myself from retorting for Claire's sake.

I glanced down at the little girl; she was frowning down at her clasped hands, deep in thought.

Jesus.

The sacrifices made for children!

She was so much like Quil and Emily though. She didn't let herself get told off by anyone (except for, apparently, '_Neera'_) and she is quiet and thoughtful, always being the goody-goody.

"Why are you still alone?" She asked randomly as she looked up at me in confusion, as if I were the bearer of answers to every question in this fucking world.

"Well, you're with me right now…Does that count as being alone?" I chuckled wryly, knowing exactly what she meant.

"No!" she rolled her eyes at me, "I mean, Brady's always with Kenzie and Sam's always with Emily, and Jared's always Kim…but why are you still alone?"

"Because I like it that way." I said flatly, as we turned the corner, finally arriving at her school.

"Well, do you like it when I'm not around? Or when Quil or Emily aren't around?" she asked, grabbing her backpack from the back seat.

"Sometimes." I said quietly to myself before stepping out and opening the car door for her, "Look, princess," I sighed, kneeling so I was in eye-level with her.

"Yes?"

"You're so strong." I said to her, realizing how true it was. Her brown eyes were curious but not naïve, her face was soft but held traces of suffering, her heart was pure but cracked and smudged.

"You're too good to be trampled on, by 'Neera' or anyone else. You hear me? And you can't let anyone tell you differently." I stated firmly. She nodded, "Okay." She whispered quietly.

"Now you behave, Sam and Emily don't want to receive anymore calls from the school informing them that you didn't pass your Science test." I sighed, allowing her to kiss my cheek.

"Not making any promises!" She called as she ran off to her friends.

I sighed, slumping my shoulders, feeling tired from getting up so early and having all the stress Quil got to skip because of patrols.

I knew he'd be dying to be here right now, and was probably checking on us right now.

My wolf-senses (as Seth would call it) tingled, feeling watched. I immediately assumed it was Quil spying on me, making sure I took good care of his imprint.

But I found myself surprised when I turned. The first thing I noticed was the car.

The Chevy Tahoe was a sleek black color, every man´s heart´s desire.

But I noticed a blonde and brunette in the car. I could make out the color of their hair from where I was but not facial features.

The brunette looked away, ducking her head slightly as she turned away but the blonde continued to stare.

Soon an older (and blonder) woman walked up to the car and knocked on the blonde´s window.

Must be the new family.

I honestly contemplated going up to them and introducing myself, and welcoming them to LaPush but then I laughed.

What was I? A fucking tour guide?


	6. Feel Too Little

"_**We think too much and feel too little." – Charlie Chaplin**_

**Briella´s POV**

"Where did you say you're from?" The woman asked for the fifth time, her mouth moving slowly as she spoke, the smell of her breath reminding me of old books and a bat's cave.

I cleared my throat, "I'm from Dublin, Ireland…I'm Irish, Mrs. Jay."

"Irish? Hmm." She nodded, squinting down at the résumé I presented to her, "Well, your résumé clearly gives enough show that you have the perfect qualifications to take care of children, it also shows that you were awarded with a babysitter's certificate in Ireland when you were only fourteen years old!"

Mrs. Jay was a small woman. She had beautiful sun-kissed skin with the lightest shade of brown for the color of her eyes. Her hair was a sort of cloudy color, the length of her hair unknown due to the tight bun she had pinned to the top of her small head.

Old age caused her frame to be bent, her cane rested against her chair; her spectacles rested on the crook of her beautiful nose, and her small frail hands held my résumé carefully.

"Yes. I know that, Mrs. Jay." I nodded patiently.

"Well, I would certainly love the extra help and company, Ms. McGeagh," she smiled, little wrinkles appearing at the corner of her eyes, "When would you like to start?"

I straightened up, "Y-you mean…you mean I got the job?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, you _did _come to me, asking for a job and even presenting to me your résumé for it, did you not?" she asked, genuinely confused as she frowned down at my résumé before moving her confused frown up to me.

"Yes, I mean, of course, Mrs. Jay." I chuckled disbelievingly, "But I'm just a little flustered, is all. I did not expect to get the job so easily."

"What? So easily, you say?" Mrs. Jay laughed, "Did you expect me to throw difficult arithmetic questions at you in order to find out if you're worth winning the job or not?"

I laughed then, whatever nervousness or tension I felt immediately dissipating.

"Well, no. But, to answer your previous question, I would like to start as soon as possible, Mrs. Jay." I nodded.

"Oh, great! Excellent, Ms. McGeagh! You shall start on…hmm...you shall start on Thursday. Yes, on Thursday. You must come in before six thirty, that's when most of the parents drop their kids off. You'll be let out by around…hmm… let's see. I'll let you out at three forty-five. Yes. And you'll work through Monday to Thursday. How does that sound?" She asked as she handed my résumé back to me, removing her spectacles and setting them on the small lamp-table next to her.

"Oh, that sounds perfect, Mrs. Jay." I smiled as we both stood. I handed her the old brown cane resting against her chair, "Thank you so much for you time. I really appreciate this."

"Oh, no problem! I must say, I'm looking forward to seeing how the children will react to having a new babysitter for them." She chuckled, walking forward slowly as she moved to open the door for me.

"Oh, I can handle that, Mrs. Jay." I said, moving faster and opening the door wide for her, "I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you will, Ms. McGeagh, I know you will." She smiled up at me, her light brown eyes gazing up at me with a bright twinkle.

The day-care was small. There was only one floor, twelve rooms in the building; there was a cafeteria, two restrooms in every room, and an art classroom, too.

"The ages of our children range from eight months to ten years old. The kids from eight months to six years old take naps at twelve and wake up until two fifty-six. Lunch for the kids above the age of six is at eleven twenty-five." Mrs. Jay explained as she gave me a tour of the small building.

The walls were all a strange color of pale yellow, except for the nursery. Its walls were painted in blue with white clouds, and a strip of wall paper decorated with teddy bears lined the roof top; some rooms had their walls decorated with flowers or wallpaper.

"There is absolutely no art class for children below the age of seven." She said, her tone sharp, surprising me.

I stared down at her in shock, but she explained, "Imagine kids below the age of seven playing with paints?" she shook her head, "No, they just don't combine."

I grinned, "I understand."

When Stiofán and Conor were four years of age, Christina left them unattended while she helped me with my arithmetic problems. Mum and dad were enraged to find the wall and couch in our living room stained and painted in yellow and green.

"You must bring your own lunch, Ms. McGeagh. We are not allowed to share our food with the children, and vice versa. Some mothers and fathers are very strict on how we take care of their children." Mrs. Jay went on.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Jay, but are there other people working here too?" I asked curiously as I glanced around the art classroom we were in.

"What's that you say? Oh, yes, of course! Although not many people your age have come around looking for this kind of job," she chuckled heartily, "Most people want to work like in fast food restaurants or somewhere 'cool'." She made a face.

"There are only three other people here. But with completely different schedules. If you ever need help you come to me, and if the other workers are giving you any trouble, you let me know immediately. Understood?" She asked sternly as she locked the building as soon as we stepped out.

"Yes, Mrs. Jay. Thank you, again, so much." I nodded, shaking her hand, "I look forward to coming to work on Thursday."

"Well, until then, Ms. McGeagh. Good day."

"Good day to you, too, Mrs. Jay. Goodbye!" I waved as I walked down the sidewalk.

The daycare was very close to my house. Only about three blocks away. How convenient!

Christina met me at the corner, a scowl on her face.

"What's wrong?" I frowned, "How did you job interview go?"

"Fucking bad!" She spat, "Tha' bastard man hardly even glanced at me as I spoke!"

"That brainless brute!" I gasped. "Tha's not the end of it," Christina rolled her eyes, "He'd interrupt me as I spoke 'nd ask the most stupid questions, I swear, y'know what I mean?"

She sighed, shaking her head before asking me, "How'd yers go?" "I got the job, Christina!" I squealed uncharacteristically, "Not even forty minutes had passed and I got the job!"

Christina's scowling face broke into a smile, "Tha's great, lassie!" she hugged me, "Yer great with children!"

I laughed, "Oh, come off it, like." I mimicked her pronounced Irish accent. "Oh, may the light of heaven shine on yer grave, ye gom!" she gasped dramatically, imitating our mother's sayings.

We glanced at each other before bursting out laughing.

**Third Person POV**

Mrs. Jay was just getting off her old Lincoln Town car when she heard a voice call her.

She turned, delighted to see Paul walking towards her. "Hello, Paul!" she smiled gaily up at the young man who always helped her fix something either in her car or kitchen, "What can I help you with today?"

"Hello, Mrs. Jay. Nothin', I just wanted to say hi to you before heading off for work." He closed her car door behind her, helping her walk to her house door, "Why were you out? I thought today was your day off from work?" He frowned.

Mrs. Jay laughed, smiling fondly.

As a young boy, Paul Lahote would hang around Mrs. Jay's neighbourhood, his best friend Jared living a few houses away from her. She would often prepare meals for them, packing lunch for them when they'd stop by her house before school started. She was the only one who wasn't family or part of the Council that knew about their ability to turn into a wolf.

Her brother was once part of a pack, but died, killed by a coven of vampires.

Paul was also fond of Mrs. Jay. He knew her schedule front and backwards, caring for her as any young boy would for their mother.

"I got a new girl on my crew!" she whispered as if spilling a secret, "A certain Ms. McGeagh. Or Briella McGeagh, as I recall."

Paul rolled his eyes. Mrs. Jay was old. No one knew her age, but she knew everyone in town. She was a little 'cuckoo', sometimes forgetting where she was or what she doing.

"Let me guess, she's a 'lovely young woman, around my age, perfect for me'?" He chuckled, already used to Mrs. Jay strategy of hiring girls around his age for him to meet.

"Yes, actually!" she exclaimed, "Now, how did you know? Well, she's Irish if you must know, from Dublin, to be exact."

"She belongs to that new family that moved in, huh?" Paul asked, glowering darkly at the tin rooftop in Mrs. Jay's porch, remembering Atloë.

The wolf growled angrily at remembering Atloë but Paul held the wolf back.

Paul was always extra careful when talking to Mrs. Jay of things that invigorated him, knowing the 'wolf side' of him could easily get out of control.

"As a matter of fact, yes! Paul, you must be some sort of psychic!" Mrs. Jay exclaimed in surprise as she adjusted her spectacles, "Very courteous and proper, unlike that…what was her name? Jamey? Judy?"

"Her name was Julie." Paul chuckled, "Julie was okay." "Well, you deserve so much more than okay, young man!" Mrs. Jay scowled up at him, "And since when did you get so tall?"

"Since grade school, Mrs. Jay." He chuckled, "I've got to go now, Mrs. Jay, I'll see you around."

"Oh, okay, Pauly, you take care! Say hello to Jared when you see him! And make sure he's taking care of that real nice lady he brought over some time ago!" She called after him as he got into his truck and drove away.

As he stopped at the red 'Stop' sign, he rubbed his face tiredly, wanting nothing more than taking a nap.

He heard laughter.

He turned, letting out a huff of annoyance. The wolf was bothered to hear such happiness going on in the air when he was sleepy.

"Oh, shit." He muttered, ducking his head, recognizing the blonde's hair from earlier this morning. He recognized the brunette too but was more curious than scared to see her.

Their backs were to him so he took that to his advantage, immediately scanning them with his eyes.

The blonde wasn't as blonde as he thought; her hair was a sort of dirty blondish-brownish colour. Her hair wasn't very long or too short; it fell just below her shoulders.

She was taller than the brunette, her legs were longer, and she was wearing these dark pair of jeans with red flats and a jean jacket. She had her arm wrapped around the brunette's small shoulders; they were speaking to each other, happy and carefree.

_They must be the McGeaghs Mrs. Jay was talking about._ Paul thought to himself.

The blonde was the one doing most of the talking, she spoke animatedly with exaggerated hand movements and loud tones. He could make out the accents from their tones; the melody in their voice was endearing to hear.

The brunette had a quiet laugh, her voice tranquil and softer than the blonde's. She was petite, small compared to the blonde, child-like even.

She seemed to be around sixteen or fifteen years old.

The melodious accent wasn't so pronounced on her voice as it was on the dirty blonde's, but he could make out an accent anyway.

Her dark hair fell to her mid-back; she was wearing grey boots with dark jeans and a blue long-sleeved shirt.

_That must be Briella. _Paul decided. No way would Mrs. Jay give such a responsibility of taking care of children to a loud woman.

The brunette had her arm wrapped around the blonde's waist as they spoke, waiting for the cars to stop passing by so they could cross the street, both of them unaware of the dark pair of eyes watching them.

The wolf let out a low growl of approval.

Paul had to admit, they both had nice pairs of legs, but wished he could see their faces to really decide which was more attractive.

When the car behind him honked, he realized he had been parked by the stop sign too long.

He immediately drove along just as the blonde and brunette turned to see what was going on, Paul going unnoticed by the McGeagh girls.

"Holy fuck, I'm such a perv." Paul whispered to himself in shock, his eyes wide as he turned the corner.


	7. Follow In a Storm

"…_**Poor, pale, pitiable form that I follow in a storm; Iron tears and groans of lead bind around my aching head." **_

_**William Blake, **__**Broken Love **_

**Briella's POV**

The wolves' howls were sounding so much louder and closer, as if they were just circling the house in curious anxiety, not sure to decide whether we were a threat or trespassers to their land.

But what worried me the most was that they only ever howled like this at night, as if they planned this on purpose to make me suffer in my dreams.

I shuddered, rubbing my arms before quickly tugging on my wool sweater. I heard my father knock on all my siblings' doors and wish them a good night, mine was next.

"Darlin'? You there, lamb?" My father knocked on my door.

"Yes, dad, just a second, please." I called, closing my window, knowing how much that would worry him.

"Hi, dad." I smiled as I opened the door. He gave a strange look before walking into my bedroom.

"Wha's wrong?" he asked me, studying my face carefully. "Nothing…" I frowned. "Ye seem frightened…is it the wolves?" he asked, eyeing the window warily as another howl resonated through the air.

I grimaced, walking over to my bed and settling underneath the covers. "Yes. They're not exactly singing me lullabies and cradle songs." I chuckled. My dad laughed, sitting next to me on my bed, resting his head on mine when I leaned against his shoulder.

I watched as he quietly examined his nails. I rolled my eyes.

My dad was always worried about his health and his hygiene, worrying enough for both himself and mum.

"I'll be off to work on Thursday; I have to be in before six thirty so I'll leave at six o'clock." I informed him, my eyes beginning to feel heavy with sleep. "I'll drop you off, lass." My dad said quietly, "Yer mum and I are now working in Portland and enter until seven, so we'll have time to drop ye off and get there on time."

"Alright, dad." I yawned as he got up to leave. "Er, dad? Can you stay 'til the wol- I mean, 'til I fall asleep?" I requested.

My dad smirked knowingly, sitting back down next to me and stroking my hair as he began quietly, "'It was many and many a year ago, in the kingdom by the sea, that a maiden there lived whom you may know by the name of Annabel Lee'…"

My father's most prominent character lied in his voice. His accent was both a mix of Irish and Italian, the melodious Irish tilt in his voice but the way he pronounced the 'r' was definitely Italian.

He was handsome when he and my mother married, the handsomeness still surviving in his face after many years of stress.

He and my mother met in a Poetry Club when they were both in high school and married after graduating from college. Even then they were both nerds.

My mum and dad would make us memorize poems as children; now that Christina and I are grown, we snicker when we watch our twin brothers struggle in reciting them.

I smiled, my eyes closing, hearing my father's smooth tone and melodious accented voice fill my ears with the tragedy of Annabel Lee.

I was half-asleep, my mind playing back to the wolf I had seen in my first day here. But suddenly the image was a dream and instead of the wolf being russet-colored with dark eyes, it was a different wolf.

It was a silver/grey wolf. It was beautiful. But its eyes were angry and hurt, glaring straight at me from where it was hidden in the shrubs of the dark forest, growling like an animal in defense-mode after being hurt.

I twitched; startled as I opened my eyes and felt immediately soothed when I felt my dad's warm hand still stroking my hair.

"'The angels, not half so happy in heaven, went envying her and me – Yes! - that was the reason'…" my father continued, already halfway through the poem.

I shivered.

"That's where they kill her." I whispered. My father gazed down at me, resting his cool hand on my forehead, but went on, "…'(as all men know, in this kingdom by the sea) that the wind came out of the cloud by night, chilling and killing my Annabel Lee'-"

"'But our love it was stronger by far than the love of those who were older than we- of many far wiser than we- and neither the angels in heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee'." I carried on from where my father was.

My father smiled softly, bringing my hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss against it. "G'night, lass. Ye sleep now."

"Good night." I murmured back, falling asleep as soon as my eyes closed.

That night, I dreamt of the angry silver/grey wolf with the dark eyes.

He was looking down at me from the top of a tower, a storm brewing behind his head as I gazed up helplessly, wishing that the angels that circled around the wolf would come down and help but they just glared down at me alongside the angry silver/grey wolf, their eyes chilling and killing.

**Third Person POV**

"Did I sleep all through Wednesday?" Briella wondered aloud as she leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window. "No, tha's just how boring Wednesday was." Conor snickered.

The entire McGeagh family was in the Chevy Tahoe, the twins were to be dropped off at school, Christina off for another interview and Briella off for work.

It was Thursday morning, it was six fifteen and Briella had never felt so sleepy.

The wolves and nightmares kept her up all night, her eyes threatening to close as they parked in front of the day care.

"Briella! Ye keep yerself awake, now, ye hear me, ye gom?" Dianna ordered. "Yes, mum." Briella nodded as she leaned forward to kiss her mother's cheek and her father's.

"Ye will be all fine, Briella." Christina smiled encouragingly to her little sister as she got off the car. "I wish you luck on your interview today." Briella nodded before ruffling her brothers' hair, "You two behave, alright?"

"We're angels, Briella! No need to warn us!" They both grinned devilishly. "R-right." Briella rolled her eyes but walked off into the building.

She was shocked to find three toddlers crying and whining over a fire truck toy, the other worker, a woman probably in her twenties, just standing there and rolling her eyes as Mrs. Jay tried to speak to the toddlers in soothing tones.

"Pardon me, Mrs. Jay?" Briella tried to keep her voice even without having to yell over the sound of the crying children.

"Mrs. Jay?" Briella repeated, louder this time. The toddlers stopped crying to inspect the newcomer but went right back to whining after deciding she was nothing special.

Mrs. Jay walked over to Briella, a look of relief on her face. "Oh, Ms. McGeagh! I apologize you having to come, greeted by such sounds! Please, let's go to my office. Ms. Sanders, please calm the children, will you?" Mrs. Jay instructed to the young brunette.

She shrugged before kneeling down and talking quietly to the kids, they calmed down and listened.

"Those were Thomas, Gregory and Annabelle. Those three are cousins, adorable and pleasant little kids but demons when it comes to sharing." Mrs. Jay sighed. "Of course, Mrs. Jay." Briella nodded in understanding.

"That out there was Julie Sanders. She's a sweet woman, she's nineteen years old and, unfortunately for you, she's the only one who will be working today besides you. Mr. Catori called in sick last night; he's a nice young man too! Just a year older than Ms. Sanders and you." Mrs. Jay smiled.

"Now, the parents will be arriving any minute. Do you have any questions before I introduce you to the parents?" She asked. "No, Mrs. Jay, I'll be fine. Thank you." Briella said courteously, standing as she moved to hold the door open for Mrs. Jay.

"Mrs. Jay, how are you today?" A woman with dark graying hair asked pleasantly as Mrs. Jay came out of her office. "Quite fine, thank you! How are you, Mariela?" Mrs. Jay smiled fondly at the woman named Mariela.

Mariela had a little girl holding her hand; she hid behind Mariela's leg shyly upon seeing Briella. "Oh, how rude of me! Mariela, this is Briella McGeagh, she's our new worker here. Her family just moved her over a week ago from Dublin, Ireland."

"Oh, yes! We've all been expecting your arrival! How nice to meet you, Ms. McGeagh. How do you like it here in LaPush?" Mariela asked, smiling as she shook Briella's hand firmly.

"It is so much like Ireland." Briella smiled. "How long have you been working with children?" Mariela asked curiously as she tugged her daughter away from behind her.

"Since I was fourteen, ma'am." Briella replied. "How old are you now, then?" Mariela asked, surprised. The Irish girl looked young, she could've passed for a girl of fifteen!

"I'm nineteen, ma'am." Briella responded. "Well, I guess that's enough information to know that you'll be an excellent babysitter. This is my daughter, Abida. Abida, say hello to Ms. McGeagh."

By twelve, Briella was exhausted but relieved to know the children having lunch. The younger children were taking their nap in the other room.

She was starving, so she sat in a small kid-table and ate her lunch.

"Mind if I sit here?" Julie Sanders asked. "Oh, no, go right ahead." Briella nodded.

"You like it here?" Julie asked after a silence. "It's much like home." Briella nodded. Julia quirked a dark eye brow, "So you like it?"

Briella winced, "It'll take me some time to get used to being here, but I like it so far."

"You're very proper, you know that? I've never seen anyone sit up so fucking straight like you." Julie chuckled, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Oh…thanks." Briella frowned.

"You have any family?" Julie asked as she opened her bag of chips. "Yes. I have an older sister and younger twin brothers." Briella responded as she took a sip of the Capri Sun Mrs. Jay let them have from the kid's refrigerator in the classroom.

"How about you?" Briella asked. "I live with my mum right now, but I have no brothers or sisters." Julie shrugged.

"You have a boyfriend?" Julia went on to asking. Briella let out a laugh.

"No! I've only been here a week!" Briella giggled. "Did you have one in Ireland?" Julie persisted.

Briella shook her head, "Didn't have time for that kind of stuff." "…You're a frickin' lesbian?" Julie gasped in surprise, her eyes wide.

"No, I just didn't have time for a boyfriend." Briella shrugged.

"You really like babysitting?" Julie raised her brows skeptically as she observed the Irish girl eat.

Briella nodded vigorously, unable to respond verbally because of her full mouth.

"That's how come you didn't have time for a boyfriend, huh?" Julie asked softly. Briella hesitated but nodded anyway.

Julie laughed, her laughter sounding muffled by the food in her mouth. "I think we might get along just fucking fine."

Briella just smiled but asked, "Do often curse this much?"

Julie blinked, "I don't cuss!"

"…Yes you do."

"…Well shit! I had no frickin' idea!" Julie frowned, genuinely surprised. "Honestly, you haven't noticed this before? I really hope you don't curse in front of the children, Julie!" Briella gasped. "Nah, I don't!" Julie guffawed before frowning, "At least, I don't think I do."

Briella just shook her head, grinning. "Anyways, what did you do back in Ireland?" Julie went on to asking. "I was a student over there and graduated, I've done a lot of babysitting at daycares and individual homes even then."Briella responded, a dreamy look in her face as she remembered home.

"Where are you from? Where you born here?" Briella asked, turning to Julie. "Yep," Julie swallowed down her food, "I was born here, but my father was Mexican or some shit, I don't know him, but my mom's from New York."

"How'd she end up here?" Briella wondered. "I dunno." Julie shrugged, "I guess she wanted to live in a quiet area, or somethin'." "You're close to your mother?" Briella asked Julie, gazing out the window as she asked.

"Somewhat, I guess. We used to be close when I was younger, but as soon as I hit puberty, bam!" Julie snapped her fingers, "I rebelled and thought I was all fucking cool but nope. I just damaged our relationship as family and ended up having a shitty reputation among my so-called friends…those motherfuckers."

Julie shook her head, sighing as she reminisced before looking at Briella's frowning face; she was frowning as if trying to understand what Julie was telling her.

"You're close to your family, I s'pose." Julie chuckled wryly. Briella nodded.

"You're a frickin' goody-goody aren't you?" Julie chuckled again, smiling fondly. Briella frowned, "I think so."

"You think so…What, don't you ever get fucking angry? Or just freakin' tired of being fucking good all the time?" Julie insisted, unable to believe what a goody-goody Briella was admitting to be.

But they were interrupted by the sound of voices speaking,

They both turned towards the door as they heard Mrs. Jay talking happily, her voice and a deeper voice getting louder as they got closer to the classroom Julie and Briella were in.

"Julie? Briella? Where are you two?" Mrs. Jay. called. "Over here, Mrs. Jay!" Julie said in a sigh, rolling her eyes as she got up and threw away Briella's trash, turning towards the door with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, there you two are! I've been looking for you two all over the place!" Mrs. Jay laughed before walking in with a large man. "Girls, this is Sam Uley…Emily's husband. He just dropped by to pick up little Gabe, he'll be leaving early today." Mrs. Jay smiled down at the girls before introducing them.

"Sam, this is Briella McGeagh, she's working for me now. She belongs to the new family that moved here over a week ago! Ms. McGeagh, this is Sam Uley. I've known him since he was just a little kid." Mrs. Jay beamed fondly up at Sam Uley.

His appearance frightened Briella, he was tall and dark with black hair and dark brown eyes. He was enormous. His long-sleeved shirt was unsuccessful in disguising the colossal muscles he had underneath, he was impossibly tall, and reminded Briella of that man she saw at the LaPush Middle School.

But he stepped forward and extended his hand, saying, "Nice to meet you, Briella. How do you like LaPush so far?" "Oh, can't you guys ever come up with something fucking original? I bet she's been asked that frickin' question since she met a person in this goddamn place!" Julie rolled her eyes, sighing.

"Hello, Julie. It's been a while." Sam said calmly as he turned to her, giving her a penetrating gaze.

Julie's shoulders tensed, Briella noticed, her left eye twitching ever so slightly as she forced a grin, "Nice to see you again, Sam." She said through gritted teeth.

The tension between Julie and Sam went unnoticed to Mrs. Jay who just laughed heartily and said, "You wait here with the girls, Sam, I'll go fetch Gabriel."

To break the awkward silence that settled in the absence of Mrs. Jay, Briella turned to face Sam and said, "Gabe is a very sweet little boy. You must be proud of him."

Sam smiled. His teeth were straight and perfect; Gabriel looked a lot like him.

"He takes after his mother." He said. "Emily is your wife's name, is it not?" Briella asked. Sam nodded.

"I have not met her, but when you see her, please let her know you two did a good job on raising your son." Briella said graciously. Sam blinked, cocking his head ever so slightly as he watched her.

She was a beautiful girl. She seemed to be fifteen or sixteen, her small frame sitting up straight, her legs crossed and her hands resting on her knee. She did not remove her gaze from Sam as he inspected her.

He had thought that Irish people were loud and always eager for fights like he had seen on any show portraying Irish culture, but she seemed proper and quiet and decent.

Her clothes were too expensive-looking to belong to any fashion store in Washington.

_Let's hope someone out of the pack finally imprints on someone like this girl… on someone who isn't weird like them. _Sam prayed silently.

But he just nodded and said, "Thank you, I will let her know."

Just then, Mrs. Jay walked in with Gabriel next to her. The little boy grinned, running up to his dad and holding his arms out, eager to be carried.

Gabriel was a three year old boy, with dark wavy hair, rich brown eyes and tanned skin.

Small dimples would appear on either side of his plump cheeks when he smiled, he laughed as his father tossed him up in the air and caught him, kissing his forehead. "How are you doing, little man?" Sam smiled down at his son.

His son smiled up at his father, their grins so identical. "We have a new teacher! She's right there!" He yelled excitedly, smiling at Briella as he pointed to her, indicating for his father to look. "I met her," Sam nodded, "You ready to go home?"

Gabriel nodded vigorously, "I'm hungry!" he patted his stomach.

"Wanna go see if your mom has prepared anything for us?" Sam asked his son, chuckling. "Yes!" Gabriel pumped his fist into the air, pointing towards the door, "Le's go now!"

"Say goodbye to your teachers first." Sam scolded gently. "Bye, Mrs. Jay! Bye, Ms. Julia! Bye, Ms. B'iella!" Gabriel shouted, waving as he grinned at his teachers.

"Good bye, Gabe!" they all waved back, smiling at the boy. "Bye, girls. Mrs. Jay, Paul will come in later and pick up Ava at two." Sam informed Mrs. Jay before they walked out.

Julie scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Briella frowned. Julie chortled, "Paul's a fucking bas-" "Julie!" Mrs. Jay snapped, causing Julie to duck her head, "I will not tolerate you, or anyone else, speaking that way of Paul. I've known him since he was just a young boy!"

"Yes, ma'am." Julie muttered. But Mrs. Jay blinked as if remembering something. "Oh, I brought cookies I made last night! Who wants some?"


	8. In Fire and Blood

"_**In this part of the story I am the one who dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you, because I love you, Love, in fire and blood."**_

_**Pablo Neruda**_

**Third-Person POV **

It was the phone ringing that woke Paul up at two forty-three. He had decided to get off work at 10:30 to pick up Ava, Kim and Jared's kid.

She was just like Kim. She was so bossy and vulgar and spoiled. In Paul's opinion, Jared spoiled her too much.

Paul had spent the rest of the morning with Abira Alarice, an African/Native American he had been friends with since fifth grade.

Paul preferred her company to anyone else's. She knew him like no one else did and he could get along with her in a way he couldn't get along with anyone else.

They were 'friends with benefits', consulting each other about the worse experiences and best experiences they had with other people, yet never tiring of each other in partnership.

"What the _fuck _is it now?" The Quileute shape-shifter grouched grumpily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up, thinking perhaps it was Jake or Seth.

"Is it Jake again?" Abira sighed as she stirred to turn so she was facing Paul, chuckling before yawning.

He felt somewhat embarrassed when he heard the voice on the other line clear their throat, "Um… Mr. Lahote?" the voice on the other line was a girl's, he noted the girl's voice had some sort of British or Irish accent.

"Um…yeah?" Paul asked, frowning as he wondered who this person was and why they were calling him.

"I'm Briella McGeagh, from LaPush Daycare. I've called to inform you that you are forty-four minutes late to pick up Ava Cameron. She is ready to leave and is waiting for you in the lobby with Ms. Julie Sanders." The girl said.

"Oh, shit!" Paul growled, pounding his fist on the lamp table next to the bed before leaping up and searching around for his clothes in the small clutter that was Abira's bedroom.

He was annoyed to hear that Julie would be the one to receive him. He had wanted nothing to do with her after the breakup, her jealousy and short-temper often provoking the wolf when they were together.

Briella waited patiently for Paul Lahote (or as Julie called him 'the freakin' bastard') to get back to the phone but all she heard for a while was some shuffling around in the background while he muttered something along the lines of someone going to be 'fuckin' pissed at me' and 'shitty alarm clock'. She heard him asking someone where he had placed something, the voice that answered was female.

Briella narrowed her eyes, slightly annoyed, thinking that if Paul was late to pick up Ava just to have his way with some girl, then perhaps he _was_ a bastard.

"Mr. Lahote?" She asked again, somewhat hesitantly, unsure of whether or not he was aware that he hadn't ended the phone call.

"Oh, crap," Briella heard him mutter before he saying, "Oh, yeah, uh, I'll be right there." And with that said, he ended the call.

She sighed, shaking her head slightly as she set down the phone, feeling someone's gaze on her. Julie raised her eyebrows, "Rude, isn't he?" she muttered, glaring down at the playpen Annabelle and Gregory were playing in.

"Curt." Briella corrected quietly, walking over to the cribs the babies were sleeping in.

"But freakin' rude, nonetheless." Julie nodded before leaning against the wall, her arms crossed, "What was the bastard doing?"

Briella felt uncomfortable to tell Julie, wondering why Julie was so interested to know.

"I don't know."

Julie nodded, sighing as she stared out the window of the building. The children were had just gone to sleep while the older ones were outside in the playgrounds with Mrs. Jay.

"You like the job here?" Julie asked as she watched Briella pick up the whimpering nine-month old Jenna from her crib. Briella looked over her shoulder to smile at Julie, nodding silently as she cradled Jenna's head against her neck.

"I think you're great with children." Julie said sincerely, appreciating how well Briella was settling in with the children. Briella smiled in gratitude, sitting down in the rocking chair when they heard the chime of a bell.

Julie's eyes widened, frozen on Briella. "He's here." She whispered. "You have Ava with you?" Briella began to ask as she frowned but stopped when a tall figure approached the children's room they were in.

As it was with Sam before, the man was enormous and it frightened her. He took a step into the room, looking around.

Briella observed him with wide eyes.

He had black boots with dark jeans and a black T-shirt with white sleeves, his sleeves rolled up halfway up his forearms and the rest of his colossal arms concealed by his sleeves, the shape of his massive muscles bulging through his shirt. He had a black earring on his right ear, and Briella realized then that he was the man she had seen before.

Julie let out a soft gasp, taking in Paul's appearance. He certainly grew, looking so much older and handsomer than he had been when they were together.

On Paul's way to the daycare, the wolf just kept on growling restlessly, causing Paul's hands to tremble slightly and his body to sweat. "The fuck?" he frowned as he wiped his brow.

He had been to the daycare once before, when he dropped by once to take Julie out for lunch time and to say hi to Mrs. Jay.

But he had to admit, the daycare looked so much better with all the construction it had over gone during the last four month, the bricks outside were newer and the garden actually looked like a decent garden.

He walked into the lobby and there was no one, he glanced around before heading to the nursery where he knew Julie was in, her scent strong in the area along with another.

The scent of the babies was clear in the air, their pure scent filling his nostrils along with the smells of Julie's Herbal Essence shampoo and a strange sort of earthly smell mixed with perfume.

The wolf just kept getting jumpier and restless, snarling and whimpering. "Pull your shit together, Lahote." He scolded himself quietly, rubbing his face with his hands before approaching the nursery, the scents stronger.

The nursery's walls were painted sky blue with white puffy clouds on it, reminding him of Andy's room from Toy Story, and a wall paper decorated with teddy bears lining the corners.

Julie was standing among the baby cribs, her black eyes wide and her cheeks flushed, her hands lying limply at her sides, her heart beat were staccatos.

He looked to the corner and sitting on the rocking chair was a young girl, probably around fifteen or sixteen, with a baby in her arms. Her brown hair was covering most of her face, seeing as she kept her gaze on the ground.

She wore a beige cardigan over her dark blue shirt; she had on dark roll-up skinny jeans with beige flats, the dark and simple colors a perfect expression of how terrible Paul thought a babysitting job was.

He couldn't tell the color of her eyes, her hair practically hid her face and the baby's body covered most of her petite frame.

"Where's Ava?" He asked the girl, who he assumed to be Briella, the girl who had called him. The girl simply glanced towards Julie, never looking at him, causing the wolf to growl in frustration.

"I'll go get her." Julie snapped, shoving past Paul.

With Julie out of the nursery room, Paul caught Briella's scent perfectly. It reminded him of the woods, the damp dirt and wet grass, and reminded him of Abira and her obsession for perfumes.

"You're Briella McGeagh." Paul stated unnecessarily, immediately regretting his stupid choice of words, taking a seat in the rocking chair next to the girl's.

Briella's heart beat faster, Paul noted, in fear.

"And you're Paul Lahote." Briella said quietly, her voice soft and accented while a small smile ghosted over her lips. She looked up at him then, her green eyes catching his dark ones.

Paul had a funny fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach, the wolf grinned devilishly yet joyfully, the sudden whirl of emotions causing Paul's hands to tremble again.

Briella found that she couldn't look away, her throat choking up with a strange sudden fluttery feeling in her stomach. She seemed to be lost in Paul Lahote's dark eyes; they were deep and captivating, keeping her in some sort of trance.

_Oh no. _Paul thought as he stared back into the green eyes of Briella McGeagh.

And just like that, she was suddenly everything, she was his world, she was the possessor of his heart, and she was beautiful.

_No, no. _

_This can't be happening. _

"Paul?" Julie's voice was what snapped him out of it.

Julie entered the nursery only to find Paul staring at Briella with a look of adoration on his face, the kind she had only ever seen Sam give to Emily and Jared to Kim and Brady to Kenzie, and she felt a dread settle in her stomach.

"Uncle Paul!" Ava smiled as she stood in front of Paul. She never greeted Paul with a hug, he didn't allow her to come very close nor did she want to.

His arms were rested on his knees and he was staring down at his hands in shock, a deep frown in between his eyebrows before looking back up at Briella.

She was confused with this strange and sudden mood swing.

His strange gaze on her suddenly became a fierce glare and she trembled, feeling fear again as he stood.

His enormous frame and height towered over her in a suddenly intimidating manner but she remained still in her sitting position with baby Jenna in her arms, doing her best to keep herself from gasping as she glanced up at Paul Lahote.

"Let's go, Ava." Paul snapped at his best friend's daughter, holding her hand and walking out of the room.


	9. Impossible To Stand

"_**When you trip over love, it is easy to get up. But when you fall in love, it is impossible to stand again." **_

_**Albert Einstein**_

**Briella's POV**

That was the most awkward meeting I had ever experienced.

After Paul practically stormed out of the nursery, Julie sent me a strange look, her eyes wide but cautious.

I had stayed seated in the rocking chair; baby Jenna in my arms and her chin against my shoulder, and my heart racing like a horse.

Julie walked out of the nursery, going after Paul. I heard her whisper to him loudly, "What the _hell _is your problem?"

I heard his deep voice snap something back before hearing the bell chime in sign that the door had opened and closed.

Jenna whimpered, letting out a small cry as she stirred, her small hands curling into small fists around my hair. I gently pried her fists from my hair, looking up as Julie entered, her cheeks flushed and her eyes filled with tears.

I stood slowly, not wanting to startle baby Jenna.

"Are you okay?"

Julie simply waved my question away, rubbing her face with her hand before signaling for me to let her carry Jenna, "It's my turn now." She explained, her voice quivering slightly.

I frowned. "He is a bastard." I reminded her. She let out a small laugh, cradling Jenna's head against her, planting a small kiss on the baby's head, nodding as she smiled gratefully.

"Oh, I must've missed Paul!" We turned as Mrs. Jay appeared at the doorway, "Has he left?" She asked us, peering out the window.

"Yes," I responded, glancing at Julie, "You have just missed him, Mrs. Jay." "Was he late again?" Mrs. Jay asked, sighing knowingly. I nodded, "Fifty minutes late."

"How was Ava?" Mrs. Jay went on to asking. "She was alright, happy to see him." I replied again, Julie's uncharacteristic silence not going unnoticed by Mrs. Jay.

She turned to Julie, "Why, Julie! Why are you so quiet? Are you tired, dear? Let Briella worry for the little ones today, you go on and help Carl and Jessica in their art class!" Mrs. Jay insisted somewhat deliberately, prying Jenna away from Julie and handing her over to me.

"Yes, Mrs. Jay." Julie nodded obediently and walked out the nursery. Mrs. Jay sighed as she watched Julie walk away, removing her spectacles and wiping the lens with the brown shawl she had wrapped around her frail shoulders.

"That little girl worries me sometimes." Mrs. Jay commented, frowning down at her spectacles before lifting them up to inspect them in the light.

I remained silent, not wanting to form an opinion of Julie based off someone else's. "She used to date Paul…had she told you that before?" Mrs. Jay then glanced towards me, perhaps noticing my silence.

I simply shook my head.

"Well, I guess it was always Julie who was far too attached. I actually hired her with the hopes of her being a perfect match for Paul, you know, the hobbies and dislikes. But she's so…_short-tempered_." Mrs. Jay said in some sort of disgust, putting on her spectacles.

"She's a very passionate person, Mrs. Jay." I spoke up then, defending my co-worker quietly, "Passion can be love, protectiveness or anger, even. But her passion for people, in general, will always be there, and expressed in different or particular ways and forms." I lifted my head slightly so my eyes met hers.

"That's rather poetic, Briella." Mrs. Jay said surprise evident in her tone. "'What is true is always poetic'." I quoted my mother, my voice automatically adapting to my mother's heavy Scottish/Irish accent, my eyes meeting Mrs. Jay's.

Mrs. Jay simply watched me a moment, before nodding, "I suppose you're right, dear. I think you should go help Julie with the kids in the art class, they can get a teensy bit out of control when they play with paint."

"Of course, Mrs. Jay." I nodded before walking out of the nursery.

Julie was sitting in the small table, helping Jason Walker cut out a piece of paper. "Hi." I said as I approached the table, Linda Mason setting herself on my lap as she asked me to please help her decorate her painting.

She had green and blue smudged on her nose and cheeks; I wiped it away with my thumb, causing her to laugh.

"I bet you Mrs. Jay told you then, huh?" Julie smiled wryly as we washed our hands at three o'clock.

I nodded, "I'm sorry you had to go through the pain of seeing him again. He was very discourteous."

"She told me to come out here to help the kids but she knew…that old bat fuckin' _knew_ I was upset to see him again. It was her frickin' fault I even _dated_ that goddamn motherfucker." Julie scowled.

I frowned, not knowing what to say. "It was foolish of Mrs. Jay to do such an irrational thing. I think she just didn't know how to comfort you after knowing you saw him again. Perhaps she felt embarrassed, even."

Julie let out a small chuckle, drying her hands before handing me a paper towel. "What is it?" I frowned.

"You're far too fuckin' polite to hate, Briella." She smiled wryly.

"What do you mean, Julie?" I asked, perplexed. She sighed, her shoulders slumping, "Didn't you notice the way he was looking at you?"

"I was too frightened to notice." I confessed. Julie laughed aloud then, giving my arm a gentle squeeze before leading the kids out into the coatroom.

"I don't know what's up with him and his… '_gang_', but they have this weird thing where they all get the same tattoos, and disappear randomly, sometimes for days, and some of them have girlfriends." Julie explained, frowning as she helped button up Amanda Ingram's coat.

"And…?" I entreated, holding up Thomas's coat. "You remember Sam Uley? Gabe's dad?" She asked with a sigh. I nodded, frowning in concentration as I buttoned up Thomas's coat, trying to keep him still.

"Well, I don't know if I'm right or not, but Sam seemed to have had such strong influence over Paul, but now he and Sam follow this Jacob dude." She muttered. "Paul would follow Sam around like a puppy, but before Sam came along, things between Paul and I were perfect." She placed the little wool hat on Amanda's little head a little too hard.

I simply watched her with my eyes wide.

"Sam's wife Emily, the way he looks at her is so strange…like she's the reason for his entire existence. When I was with Paul I always wondered why he could never look at me like _that_." Julie sighed, shaking her head.

"You needn't worry about people like Paul Lahote, Julie," I said quietly, standing before hesitantly patting her shoulder. So far, Julie proved to be nothing but fierce and strong (and foul-mouthed). She didn't deserve to be worrying over someone like _him_. "You can't waste your strength on him."

As soon as I thought about Paul Lahote, that peculiar fluttery feeling returned, causing my heart to beat faster and my pulse to rise.

It was rather unnerving.

By three thirty, the parents came and picked up all of their children, their little faces beaming as they all waved goodbye.

"You need a ride home?" Julie asked as we buttoned up our coats at the entrance of the lobby. "No, I walk home." I replied, putting on my gloves.

It was particularly cold this morning.

"I'll give you a ride anyway, Briella," Julie chuckled, holding the door open, "C'mon, now."

Christina and the twins was at home, Christina reading a magazine and Conor drawing while Stiofán watched the telly when I entered the house.

"I'm home!" I called out. "I can hear ye clearly!" Christina giggled, stepping over and hugging me, "I got t' job, Briella! My boss said I'll start tomorrow!"

"That's great, Christi!" I laughed, hugging my sister back. "'ello, you two!" I chirped, kissing my brothers' foreheads as Christina led me to the kitchen.

"Are ye hungry? I'll make sumthin' if ye like?" Christina offered.

"Um...no, thanks, Christi. I ate lunch at the daycare." I shrugged, my stomach still filled with that fluttery feeling. Christina gave me sister a strange look, "Ye sure, ye goon? Yer as thin as a chick'in!" She poked my stomach teasingly.

I giggled but stepped away, "Yes. I'll go take a shower."

I could practically feel Christina's frown burn into my back as I walked away.

"Oi, Mum 'nd Da will be back in an hour!" Christina called after me, "We'll be goin' out fer shopping wit' mum!"

I just laughed, yelling over my shoulder, "Keep yer hair aun, lass!"

My bathroom window was open when I entered. I shivered, hurriedly closing the window before getting out a towel from the towel closet.

Sighing, I rubbed my face, feeling exhausted. "Another day tomorrow, Briella," I sighed, my voice adapting to my mother's Scottish/Irish accent.

I glared long and hard at my reflection, feeling a sudden lurch of anger settle in my stomach, I set down my comb angrily, clenching my teeth.

I sighed, willing my body to relax itself. "Yer aff yer head, lass," I sighed quietly, rubbing my forehead, the butterflies never leaving my stomach since I exited the daycare, "Wha's meant t' happen will happen."

**Paul's POV**

Fuck.

Just fuckin' great.

Jared just _had_ to go on and send _me_ in particular to pick up Ava, as if that little fucker knew all along I would imprint today.

Why did it have to be a stranger? Why couldn't I just imprint Abira?

If I could choose whom I could imprint on, it would be Abira. She's the only one I actually like having around…but no-o.

I had gone to Jared's house, my glare making him understand that we needed to talk in private, ordering Ava to go clean her room while we talked.

He was probably the only one I felt truly comfortable talking to about this type of stuff, and he was most definitely the first (and only) I wanted to inform about my 'situation' earlier this afternoon but I knew it would spread all around to our pack eventually.

"That McGeagh girl looked to be only, what, sixteen or fifteen fucking years old!" I snapped, running my hand furiously through my hair.

Jared whistled between his teeth before laughing, "Man, you're acting like it's a bad thing to have imprinted! No matter what her age, she's perfect for you."

"I don't even fuckin' know that, yet, Jared!" I yelled in a loud whisper, doing my best to keep my voice down for Ava's sake, pointing an accusing finger at Jared, "Why couldn't you just pick Ava up yourself?" "Because Kim had a doctor's appointment today." Jared defended Kim, giving me a grave look.

"Well, how is she?" I asked in mock concern, which Jared failed to catch.

"She's good, just a little headache was al-" "Well, at least _you're _doing okay! Have you forgotten that I fucking _imprinted _some stranger? A person whom I have never known in my life? A person whom I might not even end up liking!" I growled, beginning to pace nervously back and forth.

"Paul, dude, just calm down, this will work out. It has to. Imprinting chooses the perfect match for you, the only one really worthy of you and vice versa." Jared said soothingly. "Who you were before, that's all gonna change, man. And it will all be for her, whether you do it intentionally or not, your heart is going to be hers."

"My fucking wolf-side is all she'll have!" I paused my pacing to snarl out my vow viciously.

"Okay, you'll only end up feeling stupid when you try to break or separate yourself from the imprint. You're going to go see her." Jared said, chuckling.

"Like hell, I'm going to go see that girl! I'd be a pedophile for imprinting her!" I cried before darkly adding the worst insult I could think of. "I'd rather Atlöe had her."

Jared's face turned completely serious then, he pointed his finger at me now, speaking sharply, "The imprint works both ways. I can only tell you what I've experienced through imprinting, and man, you're going to be _fucked_ up when you push her away. She'll always be your imprint but it can only go so far, a girl's heart has limits to how far she'll let you go." He warned.

"Oh, of course, thank you, _William Blake_." I spat sarcastically. "I'll be sure to add that to my 'Jared's Most Inspirational Quotes' collection!"

But Jared shook his head. "You're speaking out of anger and confusion, Paul, you cannot go on around pretending this never happen-" "Why would I want to go on seeking that girl out? I don't even know her! Besides, it'd be wrong 'cause her sister's pretty hot in my opinion so that'd just be weird-" I began to growl but was interrupted.

"You're not _listening_ to me, Paul!" he snarled. I stopped pacing then.

I knew Jared wasn't a short-tempered person, especially not the type of person that went around snarling angrily when ignored.

"You _cannot_ mess with this. Don't think I don't know what you'll do in order to try and 'break' the imprint or at least push this feeling away. I know you're confused and angry, I know you don't know how to feel right now." He pointed his finger at me as he spoke.

"I know you, Paul. I've seen you try and push your feelings away for a certain girl and I know what you're capable of. I know what damage you'll do to any girl just to try and get rid of your feelings for her." He growled, standing then. "And you're one screwed up, irrational, trenchant, fucking son of a bitch. You'll learn that what I say is true eventually, and one day you'll wish you would've listened to me."

Jared and I stayed silent, staring each other down before I let my breath out with a loud huff, clenching my fists.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to try harder then." I said.


	10. Senses

"…_**First time our eyes met, same feeling I get, only feels much stronger…You're the only one I'll ever want…So if I love you a little more than I should, please forgive me…" **_

_**Bryan Adams, Please Forgive Me **_

**Briella's POV**

"When the sheep escape how do you get them back in?" Linda asked me, frowning in confusion.

I was back at the daycare, it was Tuesday, ten thirty-two and I was drawing with Linda, a six year-old little blonde girl who loved to hear my stories of Ireland.

"Well we get the sheep-dogs to herd them back in." I replied pointing to the black little dog I drew next to the fence that surrounded the puffy whiteness that was the sheep.

"Doesn't he eat them?" She asked. I laughed, "No! He knows his job is to just bring them in…besides, he's too small to attack a big sheep!" Linda laughed with me. "He'd look really funny trying to eat one!" She nodded.

"Um, Briella? A little help here, please!" I heard Julie call from the other room. I glanced towards Mrs. Jay, asking for permission with just a look. She nodded in consent and I pried Linda off my lap before walking to the nursery.

"Oh, Julie!" I gasped before laughing.

Julie's dark hair was covered in some white liquidly substance, the liquid had little strange bumps in it, like blended food and I knew baby Daniel threw up on her.

What was worse: she had a little bit on her chest and shoulders too!

She handed a vomit-covered baby Daniel to me, a scowl on her face. "Just. Take. Him." She growled before stalking into the bathroom, groaning loudly in disgust.

"Ah, _fuck_! This was my best frickin' shirt!" She cried.

I grabbed a towel, still laughing, and wiped the vomit off Daniel's lips.

He began to cry, trying to push my hand away. "Calm down, little man!" I giggled, kissing the clean spot on his head. "I'll get in trouble if I were to send you back home with all this goo on yourself!"

His crying ceased but his whimpers didn't, he raised his hand to rub his tired eyes but I had to stop him and then he cried again.

"No, no, calm down, little baby." I cooed, laying the towel over my chest before guiding his head to my shoulder where he immediately clenched his little fists around the silver necklace I wore, sighing tiredly as if he had just faced the hardest trial of his little life.

"Thank goodness you had the good sense to release your food on Julie and not your clothes," I chuckled, brushing back his wild black hair.

I seated myself on the rocking chair, wrapping the blue baby blanket over his little body and gently rocked the seat back and forth.

"Ms. McGeagh? What happened?" Mrs. Jay asked as she came in, leaning on her little brown cane.

"Little Daniel threw up on Julie." I grinned.

Just then, Julie came out of the bathroom, stalking over to the small cabinets and getting out her bag of extra clothes.

"And I'm supposed to go on a date later!" She sighed, getting out the only change of clothes she had left: a cloudy-grey, backless dress that only reached down to her mid-thigh.

"Oh, Julie," Mrs. Jay chuckled, shaking her head, "I'll let you wear one of my sweaters, come on." "Thanks, Mrs. Jay." Julie sighed in relief, giving baby Daniel a glare as she passed us.

"He didn't do it on purpose." I snickered. "He did too!" She snarled playfully, giving baby Daniel's small head a sound kiss before following Mrs. Jay.

Mr. Catori was here today. He was a nice man, but he looked far too old for a twenty year old.

His name was Jaime Catori, he was a Mexican/Native American, and he had dark wavy hair with light brown eyes and dark tanned skin from all the time spent in the sun.

I wondered how his skin could be so sun-burned if there was hardly any sun in this town, but he explained he went every weekend to California to visit his mother.

He was pretty quiet, never really saying much to me or Julie. He appreciated Mrs. Jay very much, though. Jaime always offered to get her lunch, give her a ride home, help her with her own job but Mrs. Jay, being the old crow she could be, refused, waving her cane indignantly.

Jaime knocked on the nursery door, although it was open, and entered when I nodded.

"Need help?" He asked with his hands in his hands in his pockets, his shoulders tense with the awkwardness that suddenly came over the atmosphere.

"No, thank you." I shook my head, "Can you maybe just go check on Linda and Annabelle?"

"Sure." He nodded walking out.

"Well, as awkward as you say Jaime is, I think he's very nice." I said locking the door behind me as Julie walked towards her car.

It was three forty-six. Jaime gave Mrs. Jay a ride home, promising to get her car fixed, and Julie and I were left to lock the doors.

"Whatever." She shrugged, before asking, "You want a ride?" "I'd like that, thanks." I nodded.

There was a ruckus when I entered the house.

Christina was sitting on the cabinet, her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging them close to her chest and my mum was standing on a chair, her hands over her heart.

Conor was kneeling next to the ice-box, a book in his hand and Stiofán was crouched behind the couch, one of dad's working boots in his hand.

"What is going on?" I asked incredulously, wondering what could possibly be going on.

"Com'up here quick!" Christina screeched, holding her hand for me to hold, "There's'a bug in t' house!"

I immediately got on the cabinet with my sister. "Oh, sweet Mary, Jesus, Joseph 'nd a camel!" My mother gasped, "Thar it is!" she wailed, pointing as something crawled out from under the ice-box, scurrying around in a frantic circle.

"I got 'im!" Conor growled, bringing down the book but missing as the bug flew to the living room.

"IT FLIES, GODAMNIT!" My mum yowled. "IT'S FROM HELL!" Christina wailed far too dramatically into my ear, holding on to me.

The brown little roach twitched its wings, landing on the coffee table in the living room.

Christina hugged me in fright, jumping slightly when we heard the loud _thump!_

"Success!" Conor whooped, giving Stiofán a high five.

"None o' tha', young lads!" My mother scolded, getting off the chair, and clapping her hands against her thighs as if to clear them from dust.

"Y'know wha' t'is means?" She pointed down at the guts of the roach, giving us all a glare.

We shook our heads.

"T'is means o'r house has not been clean enough. I know we 'ave just moved here but t'is be no excuse to be lettin' bugs invade our home. We will get dow' t' cleanin' 'til t'is home is spotless!" She said, walking over to the kitchen and placing the chair she had been using back into the table.

We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning, organizing the unpacked boxes in the garage, and mopping every bare floor.

Mum complained of back pains and headaches, so we let her rest.

The four of us had just plopped ourselves on the couches in the living room when we heard a howl so nearby.

"Sweet Mary!" Stiofán yowled, jumping into my lap and clinging to my neck. "Enough!" Our mother snapped, waddling out of her bedroom, her blonde hair a mess and her eyes red with sleep.

"All o' ye are 'llowed t' take naps t'night!" She yawned, rubbing her shoulder.

"Yes, mum." We murmured quietly.

But my pulse was racing, and my heart pounding against my ribcage, feeling a shiver run down my spine as I remembered the wolf from my dreams.

**Paul's POV**

The McGeagh mother was snappy today.

_Probably on her period. _I yawned hugely, shaking any leaves or twigs off my fur.

_Keeping track of your imprint? _Sam chuckled. I bristled.

_No. _I snapped.

_It's okay. It's normal. The imprinting gives us an urge to protect. _Sam said smoothly.

I growled.

_I don't want to "_love_" this freakin' girl just because of some old tradition our wolf ancestors created to find a mate, if I'm ever going to love anyone it'll be because they're fuckin' worth it…Is _she _worth it? I don't even fucking _know _this girl's fuckin' age!_

_She's nineteen._ Sam replied quietly.

That soothed my previous worries of me being a pedophile for imprinting someone under-age.

_Well isn't that just fuckin' perfect? _I snarled anyway.

Sam laughed. _I guess so. _

_Oh whatever. What did you want anyway? _I scowled.

Sam shrugged. _Just wanted to check on your before we switch shifts with Embry and Collin._

I scowled darkly at the house that belonged to the McGeagh family.

Both Sam and my ears perked up once we heard a car door shut.

It was the Papa McGeagh.

He froze right before knocking on the door, glancing around apprehensively, his green eyes, so much like Briella's, landing right where Sam and I were in the forest, watching, but he did not catch sight of us.

_It's as if though he knows we're here or some shit. _I scoffed as we watched his blonde wife open the door and greet him with a hug and kiss before letting him into the house.

_He's a smart man. _Sam nodded.

_Well, let's hope his daughter inherited _his _genes and not her mother's hormonal ones…It'd definitely suck if I imprinted on some stupid bimbo. _I snarled distastefully.

Sam shook his head, his enormous shoulders trembling with chuckles.

_What the fuck has gotten into you this time? _I asked warily.

_She's very polite, I can tell you that. _Sam said, showing me his small conversation with Briella when he went to go pick up Gabe.

The wolf was rejoicing at the sight of the memory of his imprint, and her voice was beautiful.

Sam laughed, hearing my thoughts.

I growled but made sure to not forget the sound of her melodious voice.

_Jared told me what happened between you two. _Sam said a while afterwards.

_Fuckin' Jared. _I sneered, pawing at a nearby pine cone.

_And he's right, you know. And we all know what you'd do, but I also know you're not as heartless as you want to seem. _Sam told me, his mind flashing back to when I first phased.

_Well, who knows…I may have changed over the years. _I challenged stubbornly.

Sam shook his head, chuckling like some old wise woman.

As I scowled at him, I realized just how true it was.

Sam had definitely grown, and I can't remember how it happened but it seemed as if suddenly, he went from being an arrogant Alpha to being a just and patient pack member.

_People don't change, Paul. _He said in between chuckles. _Well, at least, not people as passionate as you. _He added.

I simply shrugged, refusing to think on his words when my thoughts were vulnerable for him to hear.

_Out of everyone, Paul, you're the one who deserves happiness the most. _

My eyes widened, and the wolf quieted down too.

I turned to look at him, surprised by his words.

Sam was staring back at me, too, his eyes solemn and somewhat sad.

_I know you've suffered more than you should've throughout your life, but your time is here now and you're being careful, which is normal, and I completely understand but you cannot go around trying to push the imprint-feeling away like you told Jared you would. _His voice hardened a bit at the end but he continued.

_You're right. This imprinting isn't love, it's the wolf finding a compatible mate, but this is what leads to your love for her. You're doing well in trying to get to know her first, but you cannot shut yourself off completely, you must let the wolf take some driving in this course._

I nodded stiffly, his words making all the sense in the world.

Despite Jake being our new Alpha, Sam continued being my best friend (besides Jared, but right now he was still a prick), and what I liked about our friendship was that he made everything make sense.

He talked to me until the world made sense again and I could walk away with less troubles, I could run off without the weight of the world on my shoulders.

_C'mon on over to my house. Emily was making lasagna, she's probably done by now. _Sam ran off towards his house, with me in pursue.


	11. Hear The Wind Blow

"_**Angels are coming to watch o'er thy sleep; Angels are coming to watch over thee…Hear the wind blow love, hear the wind blow, Hang your head over, hear the wind blow."**_

_**Alexandra Ripley, **__**Scarlett**_

**Third-Person POV**

"And just _what _exactly is the purpose of this little 'hiking' trip?" Claire whined as she slapped away a little twig in her way. "So you'll know the trees a little better, Claire." Paul sighed sarcastically while Quil kneeled down next to her and explained patiently.

Paul rolled his eyes, feeling some sick sort of feeling in his stomach.

The wolf was angry and anxious. Not angry and anxious with anyone in particular, but Paul knew the cause and was annoyed.

He could practically hear Sam's previous words ring in his ears, filling his head with words that made sense and others that contradicted that sense and reasoning, giving Paul a headache.

_Fuck. _He growled, clenching his fists.

Seeing Claire and Quil was more annoying than ever now.

Paul continued walking though, deciding not to slow down for Quil or Claire. He knew the woods like the back of his hand, having had gone on hiking trips with his father and uncle back when he was little.

He stopped, sniffing the air, not realizing he was unconsciously watching for Claire and Quil, making sure the area was safe for the both of them.

The air contained the scents of wild animals; birds, a few mountain lions had passed by before, a deer, and strange scents.

The wolf let out a content growl, making Paul uncomfortable. The scents were familiar but he couldn't place it.

Two scents were pure and innocent, one was sharper, all of them human but one containing the scent of damp dirt and wet grass and Daisy perfume.

Paul's eyes widened, his hands trembling as the wolf let out a howl deep inside him, wanting nothing more than to shift and track down the scent until he reached his imprint.

"_Fuck_ me!" Paul swore angrily, falling to his knees, his hands clenched into fists by his sides as he fought with the wolf, fighting away the longing feeling.

But the wolf was persistent and refused to be beaten this time. Paul growled grudgingly, "Okay, but we'll test her first."

And without another moment's hesitation, he stripped before he shifted and ran after the scent, swiftly and quietly, the wolf grinning gleefully as he raced to his imprint.

"'nd just _what_ t' fuck are ye doin'?" Conor sighed upon catching sight of his older sister lying flat on her stomach in the grass in the middle of the forest, with her hands tucked beneath her chin, serving as a pillow as she watched intently ahead.

"Ye'll git a cold!"

Briella simply glanced at him, "Don't curse." She ordered softly yet sharply. Conor rolled his eyes, sighing as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah? Well, I'm sure t' ants don' 'preciate bein' watched by some auld, foosherin' knob-head!" Conor gently prodded his sister's side with his foot. She giggled, pushing his foot away, "Oh, just finish your 'hunting' and let me observe the ants."

"W'as so special 'bout 'em anyway?" Conor asked, kneeling down next to Briella and squinting down at the ants. Briella glanced up, grinning as she shrugged.

"It's calming…once you really think about it." She explained, frowning as she wondered if her words made any sense.

What she had loved about watching ants was that, once she became entranced by their hurried and anxious movements, she felt that her heart would beat normally. The only time where she felt calm and oblivious to reality, and she relished the feeling of sharing a world that wasn't her own

Conor scrunched his nose in confusion. "Well, ye won' be sayin' tha' once t'ey bite ye." He chuckled, patting his sister's shoulder before getting up, "I'll go on ahead wit' Stiofán and Da, ye stay here."

She nodded, waving him away, never removing her gaze from the ants.

Conor frowned down at his sister curiously, shaking his head before walking away.

It had all rained all night and morning, a strong storm causing nearly everything to shut down early. It was Wednesday, eleven thirty-two, and the weather was perfect.

Dianna and Christina were shopping while Shaun and the twins were fishing, Briella tagged along, wanting to spend time in the forest, close to the river.

She sunk her teeth into the pear she was eating, chewing thoughtfully.

She always brought along a piece of fruit or sweets, eating while she watched and sharing with the ants, just to watch their perfect movement and swift organizations.

Briella inhaled, closing her eyes, taking in the smell of damp dirt and leaves.

_Could things be getting any better? _She wondered to herself.

But she opened her eyes, and frowned. The ants were all marching furiously back towards where their ant hill was.

Briella got up on her knees and hands and crawled, never taking her eyes off them. "Strange." She murmured, but followed them attentively, not caring that her bare knees and hands were covered in damp dirt, not realizing she was getting deeper into the forest.

Paul was crouched, camouflaging effortlessly with the dark colors of the forest, his eyes fixed on his imprint.

_Are those _ants _she's following? _He frowned to himself. She was probably crazy but the wolf insisted on keeping track of her.

She was wearing a red flowery long-sleeved button-up shirt, with waist high shorts that complimented her petite waist. The shorts came up to her mid-thigh and she was wearing black boots, her legs were stunningly pale, but her knees and hands were covered in dark dirt because of her crawling. Her brunette hair was styled into a loose side-braid, her eyes unable to be seen by him by her bowed head.

_Why the fuck can't she look up? _The wolf growled impatiently, wanting so badly to see the greenness of her eyes again.

He was the one who had crushed the ant hill on purpose, knowing the ants would go angry about it and Briella would follow them.

As she crawled closer to where the ant hill was, she got closer to where Paul was.

His breathing began to quicken and the wolf was practically jumping up and down with joy, like some spoiled puppy seeing its master.

_How pathetic. _Paul rolled his eyes but watched in some sort of fascination as Briella frowned up at the small crushed ant hill.

Briella felt the small hairs in the back of her neck stand on its end, and her heart struggled to keep up with the quickness of her breath.

The O'Brien in her blood could sense the presence of something strong, something invisible, a force that was giving her this strange feeling in her stomach.

As the strange fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach grew stronger, Briella squinted at the small branches in front of her, noticing a sort of silver-greyish color.

The silver-greyish-thingey moved slightly, leaning down so that its eyes connected with hers and she felt fear and the strange fluttery feeling even stronger in her stomach.

"Oh, sweet Mary…" She breathed.

She crawled back slowly, too scared to get up on her feet and run away, her eyes widened as the massive creature came out from behind the branches and bushes silently and majestically, revealing a bear-sized silver/grey wolfe with deep dark eyes.

Briella crawled back swiftly this time, her breath coming out raggedly, and her heart beating tremulously.

Paul noted her strange heart beat but knew she was in no danger of having a heart attack.

_Perhaps that's just how weak she really is. _He scoffed mentally, annoyed at knowing he imprinted on a weak little girl.

He advanced towards her, step by step and she just crawled back and as soon as they were deeper into the forest, Briella licked her suddenly dry lips, staring up at the enormous creature in awe and fear.

The wolf was enormous, his intimidating height towering over her petite frame, making her feel as small as an ant.

Paul growled softly, the wolf thrashing around desperately, wanting nothing more than to embrace his imprint and protect her, but Paul was firm to what he wanted. He needed to know she was strong.

He needed to know he wouldn't end up with some old and weak spinster.

The wolf whined as the Irish girl slowly got up to her feet, her hands resting limply at her side, filled with dark dirt and her knees stained with it as well.

But Paul slowly bared his teeth, meaning to frighten his imprint and see how strong she could be in moments of fear.

He continued to advance, and she continued to back away, her breaths coming out in ragged gasps now, her eyes wide and filling with tears from lack of blinking, trembling.

Suddenly, she turned and fled, running so swiftly Paul could hear the whispering of her boots brushing against the grass.

For a moment, Paul stood still, stunned, and watched the petite beauty that was his imprint run ahead of him, admiring her backside.

He grinned in glee; the wolf begging to go after her and Paul complied.

_Holy Mary and Joseph! _Briella prayed silently as she ran like a bunny-rabbit trying to outrun the panther.

Paul was laughing, his tongue hanging out of his mouth while he grinned (the best he could while in wolf form). She was fast, and she was beautiful.

Then, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere. It went from scared and tense, to angry and free.

He frowned as he watched her turn abruptly, nearly making him stumble. She turned too quickly, causing her to stagger, her hands touching the ground before she leapt up and ran again, aiming for the tree up ahead.

Paul pushed his legs harder against the ground, determined to chase her out.

She climbed up the tree like a little monkey, her hands clutching the perfectly twisted branches and her boots never stumbling or tripping over the small dents in the bark.

Briella set herself on the tree's highest branch, her braid undone, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wide as she stared down at the creature.

The wolf set one paw on the tree, sniffing as if debating whether or not he would climb, the tree was pretty tall and she knew he could climb it in one leap if he wanted to, he was big enough.

But he simply sat down, staring up at her with those dark intelligent eyes.

She took in deep shaky breaths, trying to calm her irregular beating heart. Her head felt like an Air-Head, and her chest hurt when she gasped for breath.

She raised one shaky hand to her chest, clutching at her shirt as she stared down at the wolf with wide eyes.

"Oh, sweet Mary… help me." she prayed in a breath.

_Oh fuck. She's praying. She must be scared shitless! _

Despite wanting to see how strong she was by scaring her, her whispered words of prayer made Paul feel a little guilty.

Paul's eyes widened, and now he felt fear; he heard Briella's heart's beats go down from fluttering to impossibly slow.

He knew this wasn't fear now; there was something wrong with her physically. The wolf snarled angrily at Paul, making him roll his eyes.

Briella saw the wolf brace himself down below the tree, his eyes now careful and wary as he watched her, but her vision was blurring.

The wolf let out a worried whine when he noticed Briella's eyes begin to close, not wanting the green to go away, Paul stood now, feeling his body tremble, ready to phase back if necessary when his imprint began to let go of the branches.

He shifted back when he noticed her head begin to roll and her eyes close, quickly dressing and beginning to climb up the tree.

The tree's branches were intricately twisted, and he found it hard to climb the tree. He was impressed with his imprint's physical strength. The wolf purred proudly at his imprint's strength, making Paul scowl.

But just then, Briella's small body fell from the tree, tumbling towards Paul. He leapt down and held his arms out, catching her just as she fell completely.

Eyes wide, heart racing and body trembling, he knelt his head down, pressing his ear against her chest and listened intently.

Her heart was impossibly slow.

"Shit!"

He ran then.

**Briella's POV**

I was probably dead.

I had to be. The warmth was too comforting after such a fall. I knew how high the tree was. The Wolfe was probably devouring me right now.

But I seemed to flying, the wind was blowing past me so quickly I could feel it brushing my hair back and whispering in my ears.

I dared open my eyes to peek at the angel that was carrying me towards heaven but was surprised to find a russet-skinned man holding me in his arms, his jaw clenched in determination, his eyebrows set in a frown over his dark eyes and his forehead creased in worry.

He glanced down at me with the eyes of the Wolfe, and some sort of relief spread across his face but his lips were set in some bleak line.

I licked my dry lips.

"My heart hurts." I whispered to the familiar-looking stranger.

Something in those dark eyes tightened.

My heart soared in seeing this familiar face again, my stomach tightening with this fluttery feeling as I looked up at him.

But my heart was too worn out to ask questions, my lips were now immobile, and the silence made him beautiful, his eyes dark and intent on my own.

And I then decided to let the exhaustion come over me, allowing my eyes to close again, hearing my father's smooth accented voice somewhere far in my head quote a song I heard in Ireland once: _"…The roses all have left your cheek. I've watched them fade away and die. Your voice is sad when e'er you speak And tears be-dim your loving eyes. And I will take you back, Kathleen To where your heart will feel no pain…"_


	12. Many Times

"_**Cowards die many times before their actual death." **_

_**Julius Caesar**_

**Paul's POV**

I wasn't surprised to see that as soon as I started to run, rain began to pour like buckets upon us.

"Just my luck." I growled, holding the girl's head protectively to my chest to keep any water from getting into her nose and agape mouth.

Her house was too far from where we were in the woods.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. Perhaps she didn't realize how deep into the forest she got.

"Paul!" I heard Quil call. He and Claire were close.

Quil was carrying Claire on his back, she had her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms were around her knees. "What the heck, Paul?" He demanded in shock upon seeing me fully.

I couldn't even imagine what a sight we must've been.

Glancing down at the Irish girl, I realized it would've seemed to anyone else that I had kidnapped her. I was a dark dangerous-looking giant compared to her pale child-like body.

"She fainted." I replied in a grunt, holding her small body closer. Quil and Claire glanced at each other, sharing the apprehension and doubt.

"What's her name?" Claire asked, nodding towards Briella. "This is your imprint." Quil stated stupidly.

I scowled darkly at him when Claire giggled, clapping her hands. "I knew you wouldn't be able to stand being alone for so long!"

"We'll take her to Emily's," I told Quil, ignoring Claire's giddiness.

Upon seeing Quil's hesitation I sighed. "Her house is too far from where we are, and this rain will get her and Claire," I nodded towards the ten-year old on his back, "a cold. Besides, what would her family think upon seeing their daughter in the arms of some giant Quileute stranger?"

Quil nodded. "You're right. Let's go."

I ran on ahead, not waiting for them.

"C'mon, you fucking little ant!" I murmured, glancing down at Briella. Her heart wasn't as slow but it seemed to be quivering in her chest.

She opened her eyes a peek, a flash of blazing green, as if she had heard me. "Hey." I let a small grin crawl up to my lips but made sure to not look so happy. I wondered if she remembered me.

She probably did. I bet Julie and Mrs. frickin' Jay told her about me.

I'm sure Julie labeled me as the bastard heart breaker while Mrs. Jay probably bragged about me being a gentleman or something.

"I still don't know how strong you can be, little girl!" I urged Briella quietly, her green eyes closing again.

"Open the frickin' door!" I yelled, knocking on it with my leg.

"You respect my house, Paul La-" Emily's scold was interrupted by her gasp. "Oh my goodness! What happened? Get inside now!"

She urged us in, holding the door open for Quil and Claire too. "What happened? Who is this?" Emily scurried around the best she could with that big baby she had growing in her stomach, getting towels and blankets.

"That's Paul's imprint." Quil said, wrapping Claire in a towel. Sam stepped out from the hallway.

"What's going on?" He asked, frowning at me when he caught sight of Briella. "She was in the forest and she fainted." I said boldly, keeping out the part where I chased her.

"Why didn't you take her home, Paul? This could be considered kidnapping!" Emily shook her head at me, rubbing Briella's brown hair with a towel to dry it.

"Her house was too far away, and the rain was heavy." I shrugged, sitting on the couch next to where Briella was, the wolf growling piteously at the sight of the frail and pale body.

"Claire, honey, I'll start the water so you can take a nice warm bath. I'll dry your clothes, okay?" Emily shook her head at me once more before leading Claire up the stairs.

"Why'd she faint?" Quil asked worriedly, glancing at Briella. I rolled my eyes. "Listen."

Sam and Quil cocked their heads to the side as they listened, catching the sound of Briella's quivering heartbeat.

"She's got something in her heart?" Quil asked stupidly. I scowled at Quil, ignoring him but the wolf growled in worry as he paced back and forth anxiously.

"Probably some heart condition." Sam nodded. "Well, we'll have to contact her family or something. They're probably worried." He shoved the curtain aside, the grey fog and suddenly cold air visible against the window as the dull rain poured.

"_When_ will she fucking wake up?" I murmured impatiently without really meaning to. "She'll be fine, Paul, don't worry. I got this." Emily said, hearing my words as she carefully made her way down the stairs.

Sam hurried to her side and helped her down the last steps. "I'll change her clothes and dry her hair." She said gently, patting my arm before turning to Quil, "You just sit and have something to drink."

But she frowned down at Briella. "Oh," Emily murmured as if she just thought of something, "Um, I'll need one of you to carry her upstairs for me."

I immediately got up and carried Briella's small body upstairs, the wolf inside growling and snarling in anger and anxiety.

Pfft. Just my fucking luck.

I was trying to figure out just how strong she could be and I ended up having to take care of her!

"W-where am I?" I heard a soft melodious voice ask. I looked down at Briella, her eyes frighteningly green against her pale face, Sam and Emily near me the only thing that kept me from screaming in relief.

"Paul Lahote?" She asked, as she blinked her green eyes up at me. "You remember anything that happened to you?" I asked gruffly, ignoring her surprise and definitely ignoring how the wolf purred when her small fingers held on to my shirt.

She frowned, glancing down at the floor beneath her as I carried her up the stairs.

"A wolf chased me…I think. My throat hurts so much." She coughed, wincing as she raised a shaking hand to her throat.

"A wolf chased you?" Sam asked in fake surprise that went unnoticed by Briella, looking up at me with dark angry eyes before glancing down at Briella again.

"Sam Uley?" Briella's frown deepened.

"I'm Emily, I'll take care of you for now, okay?" Emily said soothingly to Briella, holding open the guest bedroom door.

"Oh, you're Sam Uley's wife!" Briella smiled weakly but genuinely.

"Lay her down here, Paul," Sam ordered, patting the guest bed.

"Yeah, Gabe goes to Mrs. Jay's daycare. You work there don't you? I'm afraid for now we're going to have to cut this conversation, we must get you out of these clothes or you'll get sick." Emily told my imprint.

Briella's pale and chapped lips curved into a small smile. "Clothes on or not, I'm going to get sick anyway, Mrs. Uley."

This caused Emily to laugh.

The wolf growled at the sound of happiness around the imprint's pain.

"Call me Emily," She smiled down at Briella, "Okay well you take your clothes off and step into the shower, and I'll dry your clothes and bring you a towel." Emily said, nodding towards the bathroom.

"Can you stand?" I asked tersely. Briella propped herself slowly on her elbows, her shoulders shaking. "I'll manage. Thank you." She winced but got up anyway.

I nodded, not knowing what else to say but not wanting to leave.

"Come on, Paul." Emily said, closing the door behind us.

"What the _hell_, Paul!" Sam swatted my head.

"You _chased _her? Why would you do that? Who in their _right_ _mind_ would take advantage of their abilities to chase the love of their life?" He yelled in a whisper, trying to keep his voice low because of the thin walls.

"She's not the _love _of my life," I growled, "And I didn't take advantage!" Sam gave me a look, seeming as if though he wanted to say something else but Emily said, "C'mon downstairs instead."

Emily sat next to Sam on the couch while Claire sat on Quil's lap, her damp hair lying on her shoulders. Her clothes were dry now and she was eating cookies.

"Is your girlfriend okay?" Claire asked, frowning in concern. "She's not my girlfriend." I snapped. Quil growled.

"Sorry, kid." I sighed, apologizing to Claire. "_Briella_ is fine. She's taking a shower." "Briella is a pretty name." Claire grinned before asking Emily, "Where's Gabe?"

"He's asleep, sweetie. I'm afraid he won't be out to play at this time, darling." Emily smiled fondly at Claire.

"Excuse me? Do you think I might call my parents and let them know where I am?" Briella's voice made us all jump.

I hadn't heard her coming.

Her brown was damp and her face was still pale but not with cold now. She was wearing the sweat pants Emily let her borrow. They fit her a little too long. The blue T-shirt was too tight around her breasts, and left me wanting to tear away the restraints and watch them spring free.

I felt my cheeks heat in mortification as her green eyes glanced towards me, making me feel strangely embarrassed of my thoughts.

The blue made her eyes look dark green.

"Yes, of course! Here you go." Emily moved to bend over and get the phone from the coffee table in front of her but Sam gently pushed her back and did the job for her.

"Nice to see you again." Sam said as he handed her the phone. Briella smiled a small smile, her lips stretching beautifully, full of color now.

"Likewise. Your wife is beautiful." Briella nodded at Emily as she dialed a number, not seeming to be confused on how to act to Emily's scars as anyone else was at first.

Sam beamed with pride.

"Hi!" Claire chirped, waving from where she was next to Quil. Briella cocked her head, resembling a curious child. "Hello."

"I'm Claire, and this Quil." Claire said cheerfully. "Nice to meet you, Claire and Quil. I'm Briella McGeagh." She smiled beautifully, an amused glint in her eyes. "You're very pretty, Briella, you're name is pretty too!" Claire said.

Briella laughed, the sound music to my ears, making the wolf practically faint with joy.

"Thank you; you're pretty too, Claire."

Claire blushed but smiled shyly.

"You may step into the kitchen if you'd like some privacy." Emily chuckled. Briella nodded. "Thank you, Emily." She waved at Claire and Quil before stepping into the kitchen.

"I'll be going now right after I tuck this little hooligan into bed," Quil ruffled Claire's hair. She scowled, swatting his hand away like a dog wanting to be left alone to its food.

"Your girlfriend- I mean, _Briella_," Claire corrected herself upon noticing my scowl, "is very pretty. I like her." She nodded her approval before going up the stairs.

"I felt so awkward for a moment." Quil confessed to me before stepping out of the house, "But she's pretty, I just still don't know what to think of her." He frowned.

"Neither do I, you asshole." I said wryly, shoving him towards the stairs. "What did your parents say?" Emily asked when Briella stepped out of the kitchen. A fond smile graced Briella's lips.

"They were very worried, but my mum said that you drop me off tomorrow morning or they'll come pick me up, either is fine." Briella smiled that small smile again as she stepped forward and placed the phone back on the coffee table.

The wolf sighed like some lovesick puppy, marveling at the sound of her beautiful accent and nearness of her heat.

_Stop that! _I scolded him mentally but he just growled in response.

"So you'll stay here tonight then!" Emily clapped her hands against her thighs as she got up. "Sam, Paul, you two go get blankets." She ordered, "Will you be staying too?" Sam asked me as we went up the stairs. The wolf nodded anxiously but I scowled.

Sam chuckled knowingly. "I'll ask Claire if she'd be willing to give her room up for tonight."

Claire, being the whiny little brat she could be at times, sleepily and angrily refused to give up her room, launching her stuffed animal named Buggles at my head.

"I could sleep on the couch." Briella said upon catching sight of the scowl on my face as I closed Claire's bedroom door.

I glared down at the Irish girl, her green eyes widening slightly as I ignored her offer and shoved past her.

"Claire refuses to give her room up." I snapped, the wolf snarling at me for ignoring my imprint. Emily frowned up at me from the blankets she was spreading on the couch.

"I can sleep on the couch, Emily. I wouldn't mind." Briella said, walking over to the couch and helping spread the blankets. "Well, Paul is staying too so you'll sleep on this couch and Paul on that one. Do you mind sharing the living room?" Emily asked Briella.

Those green eyes glanced towards me but returned back to Emily's face in a flash, "No. I wouldn't mind at all." She said, her heart quivering even stronger in fear. Emily and Sam turned towards me, waiting for my reply.

I shrugged. "Whatever."

Sam glared at me but Emily led him towards their bedroom. "If you need anything, Briella, don't hesitate to call us okay?" She told Briella.

My imprint nodded her head, making me feel annoyed at her obedience.

"Good night, you two." Sam said but glared at me before closing their bedroom door.

The two of us stood in the living room in an awkward silence, I felt bad for having had glared at her and chased her but I didn't say anything, looking anywhere but her.

"Goodnight, Paul." She said quietly before snuggling into the couch, the blankets covering her head.

Now I was annoyed with her for leaving me just standing there like an idiot. I had goose bumps on my arms, her voice saying my name making my stomach feel fluttery and strange.

"'Night." I grunted. I got on the couch that was opposite to hers and rested my head on my arms.

She wasn't asleep, her breathing and quivering heart weren't slow like when someone's asleep, but I stayed silent.


	13. Scared of Each Other

"_**Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other." **_

_**John Steinbeck, **__**Of Mice and Men **_

**Third-Person POV**

The next morning at breakfast, Emily noticed tired bags hanging under Paul and Briella's eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked in concern, frowning at Briella and Paul who sat across from each other, looking everywhere but at each other.

"I did." Paul grumbled, flipping the fork in his fingers. Emily's concerned frown was turned to Briella who simply yawned.

"There was a strong storm last night." She said throughout her yawn, her voice muffled by her hand covering her yawn. "There was a lot of lightning and thunder." She added with shudder.

Paul scoffed, "You're scared of lightning and thunder?"

He knew the answer to that. He had opened his eyes a bit when he heard her blankets shuffle around as she wrapped it around her, watching her sit up and hug her knees as the storm raged on, the heavy drops of rain hitting the windows with loud _thuds! _

Briella glanced at him, her cheeks blushing before looking down at her empty plate.

"I didn't hear anything." Emily said in surprise as she set the warm scrambled eggs on the table. Sam chuckled as he entered the kitchen, "That's 'cause you sleep like a bear." He leaned down and kissed his wife, making Paul and Briella turn away awkwardly.

"Ms. McGeagh!" A little voice laughed happily as a dark-haired little toddler ran up and hugged Briella's leg. "Gabe!" Briella laughed before carrying him up to her lap. "How are you?"

"I'm hungry!" He frowned before wiggling out of her arms and into his mother's. "Good morning!" he chirped, kissing his mother's scarred cheek.

Paul observed Briella as she watched the small family exchange their morning greetings. She caught his gaze, making her blush as they both looked away at the same time.

"How's baby brother?" Gabe went on to asking when everyone was seated at the table. "He's a strong kicker." Emily grinned, ruffling Gabe's hair while patting her big belly. "When is he coming? I want to play kicking with him too!" Gabe pouted.

"Don't play with your food, Gabriel!" Sam scolded, wiping away the mess Gabe made when thrashing his fork around in his plate. "Why are you here, Paul?" Gabe asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Was too tired to get to my own house." He replied curtly but Briella noticed his lips twitch as he patted the little boy's head.

"Where's Claire?" Gabe asked, swatting Paul's hand away, not liking it when anyone that wasn't his mother touch his hair.

"She went to spend some time with Quil and his mom, sweetheart. Finish your food." Emily smiled at her son before turning to Briella, "So how's LaPush treating you so far?"

Briella jumped a bit when she was addressed, her eyes closing but straightened up in her seat. "Oh, it's so much like home. You know the weather and the greenness."

"What was it like over there?" Sam asked. That dreamy and distant look that annoyed Paul for some unknown reason came up to Briella's face, "It was very peaceful, well, when my cousins weren't shambolic or anything, which was usually after parties."

"In what type of area did you live in?" Emily pressed, glancing nervously at Paul when she noticed he wasn't participating in trying to get to know his imprint better.

He was simply staring at her with some sort of strange blank look in his eyes, Emily would never have guessed he had imprinted on the girl before him if it weren't for Sam.

"I lived about a mile away from the city. My father and his childhood friend Art had a wool company. We had lots of sheep at home."

"You miss it?" Paul asked, surprising Briella and everyone else at the table. She nodded silently before taking a sip of her orange juice, still not knowing to treat this man that gave her this weird feeling in her stomach.

"Well! It seems as if though Paul will have to take you back home, Briella." Emily said after an awkward silence. "What?" Briella and Paul asked at the same time, although in different tones.

Sam, catching on with what Emily had in mind, nodded and said, "You told us your parents didn't like driving out in the heavy rain, so Paul will take you." "Why can't you take her?" Gabe asked as he struggled with opening his mouth wide enough to fit in the forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Paul fought visibly to hold in his laughter, earning himself a glare from Sam.

"Because I have work to do after breakfast." Sam said, swatting Paul's head. "At what time are you expected to be at work?" He asked, turning to Briella.

"Before six thirty." Briella replied, leaning over to glance at the stove clock, unintentionally giving Paul a better view of her cleavage, still wearing the shirt Emily had let her borrow.

"Let's just go now then." Paul growled, the wolf growling restlessly too, getting up from the table and snatching the keys off the cabinet.

"Oh, I have to change first." Briella told him quietly, standing too. "Oh! Your clothes are in the laundry room! I'll get it for you!" Emily started to stand but Sam beat her to it and walked into the laundry room.

"I'll go start the truck." Paul snapped as he stomped out of the house.

Emily noticed the mild lost look in Briella's eyes.

"Paul's not all bad, really." Emily chuckled softly, her dark eyes understanding. "He's just angry with a few things in his life." "Isn't he old enough to sort them out?" Briella frowned.

Emily laughed, "Well, I suppose he is. But all I can do for that grown up is watch him try and sort his life out."

"Here you go; you can change in the bathroom." Sam said as he stepped out of the laundry room, handing the clothes to the small girl.

"Thank you." She nodded.

Sam and Emily gazed at each other for a second, hearing the bathroom door close shut before the couple let out a big breath.

"They're so awkward with each other!" Emily let out. Sam nodded, an amused glint in his eyes as he helped Gabe out of his chair.

"It's like he doesn't like at her at all." Emily continued. "He does like her. He just doesn't love her." Sam shrugged as he struggled with a wiggling toddler who, with a squeal, went running up the stairs to play.

"Brush your teeth, Gabe!" Sam called after him before sitting down next to his wife.

"Well he's not persistent on getting to know her to love her!" Emily sighed tiredly as she patted her round belly. "Oh, and he's just so rude to her! Please tell him to chill out a little." "Will do." Sam promised just as Briella stepped into the kitchen, in her own clothes.

"Goodbye, Emily. Thank you so much for your hospitality." Briella smiled warmly, stepping over to shake Emily's hand but was surprised to be pulled into a warm hug. "Anytime, Briella. It was a pleasure meeting you." Emily patted Briella's shoulder before letting go.

"Thanks, Sam. I'll see you and Gabe later." Briella smiled, feeling a little more relieved when Sam just shook her hand politely. His enormous frame still made her nervous.

"You're welcome. You take care."

Paul was sitting in the truck with a scowl on his face when Briella appeared, closing the door behind her as she walked towards the truck, feeling her heart beat rise in nervousness.

She didn't know how far away her house was from here, but she hoped it wasn't very long. She wouldn't know how to keep a conversation with this man.

With mild amusement, she noticed how enormous Paul looked in the truck, reminding her of when Mr. Incredible had to squish into his small car.

"Ready?" Paul groused rolling his eyes as he watched the small girl buckle her seat belt "Yes." Briella nodded.

"Won't you put your seatbelt on?" She frowned up at him. "I'd survive any car wreck." He boasted. "You're lucky…I'd probably die on impact," She chuckled quietly to herself, unconscious to the fact that Paul heard her clearly.

"Well, I'd still hate to see you all bloodied up simply because you were too proud to be safe." She said as she turned to him.

Paul rolled his eyes but grudgingly buckled his seatbelt too.

"There. Happy?" He snapped. Briella simply shrugged, feeling awkward again.

Paul turned the truck on with a low rumble, music playing from the radio. He leaned forward, his heat reaching to Briella's arm, changing the station and setting the volume.

Briella jumped, her eyes wide when loud guitar strumming blared through the speakers as they exited the drive way.

She refrained from complaining, thinking perhaps he'd ignore her, but jumped when Paul turned to her.

"What music do you like?" He asked. "Um…" The Irish woman was unable to hear him, so Paul rolled his eyes and put the volume down.

"I asked what music do you like." He repeated in annoyance. "Oh. I like anything really." She replied, turning slightly so she was facing him when she spoke. It sort of unnerved Paul but the wolf was wagging its tail in happiness.

"Elaborate." Paul snapped. "Do not snap at me that way when you speak or I shan't speak to you at all." She said, frowning, her soft yet firm tone impressing Paul.

"Okay. Sorry. Please elaborate, Briella." He said somewhat sarcastically. Briella felt a tingle in her spine when he spoke her name.

"I can tolerate any music really, like this." Briella nodded towards the stereo, "But I prefer indie rock or classical music."

She glanced out the window anxiously as soft rain drops patted the roof of the trucks with gentle pats.

The O'Brien blood in her veins sang at the sound of the rain and Briella felt dread settle in her stomach. Her mother's blood in her veins would seem to hum once a month when rain poured, as if though it were reuniting with some old acquaintance.

Her mother Dianna felt this too when rain poured, but with Briella's heart condition, it wasn't a very good thing.

"Pull over." Briella whispered, her face green as she raised her shaky hand to her lips, ready to detain any vomit that threatened to leave.

"What?" Paul frowned in confusion to her question. He turned to look at her and understood; he began to slow the truck down and was about to park on the side of the road but Briella was out the door before the truck even stopped.

"Briella!" he growled but she was out already, running a little farther before dropping to her knees, gagging and her stomach heaving but nothing rose to her throat.

"What the fuck?" Paul demanded as he knelt down next to the small girl, placing a warm hand on her small back, gripping her waist as he roughly turned her towards him. "I don't feel well." She mumbled softly, her breathing loud, one hand over her arm while the other was rested on his chest.

Paul gulped when her cool hand came to contact with his chest but he ignored the wolf's excited howls and yelps.

"Well that's fucking obvious." Paul snorted but looked her over. "What's wrong?" "I'm not sure." Briella responded.

That wasn't exactly a lie. She knew the O'Brien side of her would make her body act all weird once a month before the full moon, but every month it was a different animal, and every month there were different symptoms.

"Please take me home instead." Briella whimpered she weakly placed her hands gently on Paul's forearms.

His skin was very warm, and his forearms were very firm with muscle.

"Can you walk?" Paul ignored her request and gripped her shoulders. Briella shook her head, reminding Paul of a sad child.

"I'll carry you then." He grunted. Before Briella could object, she was in the arms of the enormous Quileute; her heart leaping when she saw how far down the ground was from Paul's arms.

She clung to his shirt, "Don't you dare drop me." She threatened weakly.

"Not making any promises." Paul smirked down at her, and Briella decided then, that he looked much better with that smirk on his face instead of the usual scowl.

She took in deep breaths to calm her erratic heart as Paul carefully buckled her seatbelt, careful to not touch her for both their sakes.

"Thank you." The Irish girl murmured, her green eyes flashing up to Paul's face in that strange way that unnerved Paul so much.

"You're welcome." He nodded uncomfortably before closing her door and getting into the driver's seat.

Paul started the truck, the wolf watching their conversational exchanged with interest. "Ready to go?"

"Yes."


	14. Charm of Weakness

"_**She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness." **_

_**Oscar Wilde, **__**The Picture of Dorian Gray**_

**Third-Person POV**

"Well fuck."

"What is it?"

"The truck's stopped." "…Well, I see that."

"Oh, don't get so frickin' cheeky with me!" Paul snapped before stepping out of the truck, slamming the door mercilessly behind him. Bewildered, the Irish girl followed, her green eyes wide.

"Yep. Just as I assumed. The battery's dead." The Quileute sighed upon opening the lid of the truck. Briella simply glanced up at him, having no idea how cars worked and how to fix them.

"I'm assuming you're a mechanic?" Briella asked quizzically, trying to make a conversation to distract Paul once she saw how stressed he seemed to be about the truck.

"Yeah, and Sam's always so goddamn forgetful about getting the truck checked." Paul sighed, shaking his head fondly as he slammed the lid shut.

"So what do we do now?" Briella asked awkwardly after a pause. "I'll have to call my 'friend' and tell him to come pick us up. I'm guessing the others are working." He responded, scowling as he dialed a number on his cell phone.

She stepped back a few steps, getting into the truck to give Paul some privacy as he spoke on the phone but was surprised to find that he followed her, getting into the driver's seat.

"Why are you in here?" She asked once he hung up. Paul rolled his eyes before turning so he was facing her. "This road is in the middle of the forest, _Briella_, some rabid bear or moose could come out and snatch you away. Then I'd be responsible. So I hope you have insurance or something." He replied in exaggerated patience before turning away.

Never had she ever been spoken to so rudely before. In Ireland, every boy she knew was respectful, sometimes rowdy and far too friendly but they respected and acknowledged her, one Irish to another.

Perhaps she was simply used to being spoiled, or perhaps she was upset that Paul didn't seem to have any interest in her at all but she spoke anyway.

"Why are you so rude to me?"

Paul chuckled at her tone. It wasn't angry or indignant, or sad even, it was simply the tone of a child wondering why it wasn't receiving what she 'deserved'.

"I'm rude to everyone, babe." He responded in a chuckle, giving her a sidelong glance.

"Why?" She asked, uncomfortable with his casual behavior. He shrugged nonchalantly, never taking his eyes off the road ahead, ignoring her.

They sat in an awkward silence, the occasional sound of the trees' leaves rustling breaking the silence, causing them both to turn slightly to look out the window.

"When's that fucker getting here?" Paul wondered aloud in a growl, practically punching down the numbers as he texted with his enormous thumbs. "Who did you call?" Briella asked curiously. "Some guy I know, Atlöe. You know him?" Paul asked awkwardly, wondering what she thought of him after the little disclosure before.

"No." She shook her head.

"Oh."

After a little moment of silence, Briella sighed, leaning her head on her hand against the window and Paul simply turned his face towards his window but kept his eyes on the girl next to him.

The silence was practically screaming into their ears.

Paul coughed awkwardly while Briella simply cleared her throat, both of them not knowing what to do or say.

She was very pretty. Her lips were plump and a pale pink, her dark hair was hanging loosely down her small shoulders. Her jean shorts showed off her pale legs.

Briella could feel his eyes on her. Most women know when a man is watching them.

Surprisingly, she wasn't made uncomfortable as she was when other guys would stare at her, but it made her stomach clench and her heart skip a beat.

"So, uh, where do you work?" Briella asked, feeling her cheeks heat up into a blush. Paul's eyes widened as he finally looked away, realizing that she knew he had been watching her.

"At Ned's Garage." Paul replied. "Car mechanics interests you?" She asked. Paul simply nodded, the wolf's tail wagging in elation.

"Is that what you want to be? A mechanic?" She asked curiously. The Quileute grimaced. "Well, not that type of mechanic, you know? I want to go deeper into technology. But I'm not sure what I want yet." He murmured with a distant look on his face.

"That's fine." She laughed gently in that quiet way of hers causing her small shoulders to tremble, Paul's eyes wide in awe as he watched her. "I don't even know what I want to do after Mrs. Jay gets tired of me and fires me."

Paul laughed with her this time, all tension gone now.

"Why do you like working with kids?" He asked after a small moment of silence. She shrugged one shoulder, her hands clasped in her lap, a small grin gracing her lips. "I guess I just like watching life."

"Isn't that what Animal Planet is for?" Paul scrunched his nose in confusion and Briella couldn't help but notice how cute he looked with that confused expression. Briella laughed and Paul noticed this was the first time he saw her laugh since Gabe greeted her that morning.

"I like watching a _life_, an intellectual mind, develop. And I like to help when I can." She explained although Paul still didn't quite understand what she meant.

"What's that s'posed to mean?"

Paul felt his chest hurt with the intensity of the beating of his heart, the wolf prancing and jumping like an idiot as Briella turned so she was fully facing him, her knee close to his.

"Well," She tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, "sometimes mothers aren't very good at their job. And it's impacting to see how the absence of their parents really affects a child, and so I, being responsible for them nearly all day, take it upon myself to try and do what their parents failed to do."

"Which is?" Paul quirked his brow quizzically. "Love them." She replied simply.

"You make it sound easy." He scoffed. "But it is." She frowned up at him, still having to look upwards to meet his eyes. Although they were both seated, he was still taller than her.

"You can get hurt." He countered.

"A child could never betray anyone's love, Paul. They're programmed to love whoever loves them. They do so unconditionally. Whether the parent deserves it or not."

Paul was annoyed to realize that the wolf inside just seemed to be watching the conversational exchanges with her. He was relieved that, at least, the wolf wasn't checking Briella out like some nasty old pervert like before.

Her words made sense to him, though. Frankly, he couldn't remember the last time he hugged his mother.

He kept no contact with his father. His father had left when he was fourteen years old.

"I guess it's good then. You do those kids a favor." Paul murmured. Briella's green eyes widened as her cheeks blushed but she smiled sweetly.

They sat in a comfortable silence until they heard a car screech to a stop.

"About time!" Paul snarled as he slammed the door behind him again. Briella sighed, looking up to the sky as if wondering how she could've gotten into such a situation. "What took you so fucking long?" She heard Paul demand angrily to Atlöe.

"Ay, dude, I was just sleeping okay? It's freakin' eight in the morning! You know I usually wake up around eleven or so! You can't blame me for this shit, man!" Briella heard the half-accented voice reply lazily as the dark-haired man raised his hands in some sort of surrender as Paul neared him, the difference in their height obvious as Atlöe practically craned his neck to look up at the Quileute.

"Ohh, and who's that you got in there wit'chu?" Atlöe's lazy demeanor changed completely. He straightened up, his eyes bright, and a grin plastered on his face as he opened the door for Briella.

Paul glanced back at them and felt the wolf practically turn purple in rage, but he ignored him and simply got into Atlöe's rumbling Camaro.

"I'm Atlöe Pomeroy. At your service. And who might you be?" The hazel-eyed man said smoothly, bowing like a gentleman.

His face was small and peaked; reminding Briella of a coyote her 'uncle' Art had hunted years ago and hung up on his office wall as a trophy.

Atlöe's eyes were slightly stretched and the color hazel, his small growing moustache giving him a whimsical look as he grinned. His hands were slender and pale, reminding her of a woman's hands.

"I'm Briella McGeagh, pleased to meet you, Atlöe." She smiled politely, shaking his hand before allowing him to help her off the truck.

She glanced curiously towards where Paul was sulking in the Camaro, glaring at his imprint's exchange with his co-worker, confused at his strange change of mood.

"Hmm. She's got manners." He nodded approvingly to Briella before raising his hand in some sort of salute or congratulation towards Paul, yelling in that loud voice of his, "This seems like a nice one, Paul! I congratulate you!"

"Shut up and get in the car. Briella needs to get home." Paul snapped, glaring at Briella's dark head as she got into the seat next to him in the back. He noticed her frown but ignored her.

"Ooh, someone's on their period!" Atlöe whispered loudly to Briella, causing her green eyes to widen before she stifled her laugh with her hand.

"Will you just shut the fuck up and drive?" Paul snarled, his hands and shoulders trembling.

"Sheesh! Alright… Mr. _Bossy_!" Atlöe rolled his eyes before turning on his car with a loud rumble.

"Where to, Ms. Briella?" He asked charmingly, speeding down the road.


	15. Vinaigrette of Confusion and Conflict

"_**People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict." **_

_**Lemony Snicket, **__**The Grim Grotto**_

By the time the black beat-up 1976 Camaro screeched to a stop at Briella's house, her face was green, the nauseous feeling back in her stomach.

"Way to leave an impression." Paul hissed, glaring at Atlöe through the mirror. Atlöe shrugged shamelessly, "That's how I drive, dude."

"Thanks for the ride." Briella grinned with her lips closed, nodding towards Atlöe before glancing up shyly at Paul and saying, "Good bye." "Oh, no you don't!" Paul snapped, getting out of the car too, surprising Briella.

"I have to make sure you don't fall and throw up before you get to your door." Paul explained upon catching sight of her confused stare. Briella blushed, casting her gaze down on the ground before walking.

Paul walked carefully behind her, staying three feet away, the wolf inside howling and yowling as he admired her backside. Paul scolded the wolf inside for being such a pervert when trying to take care of his imprint.

Briella didn't know how far he was, but even then she could feel his heat radiating off his skin like a space heater. It was frightening yet arousing.

She stumbled a bit on her feet, and Paul quickened his steps immediately, grabbing her arm in a manner he had meant to be rough but came out more like a parent holding back their child from danger.

"Thanks." She whispered, her loud heart audible in Paul's ears.

Atlöe watched the scene with a quirked brow. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, checking his teeth in the mirror.

He had forgotten to brush his teeth. But he turned back to watch Paul and that Irish girl.

Atlöe watched the scene as the Irish girl glanced up shyly at Paul, smiling as she murmured something and went inside her house. Paul was left standing in front of the door, his fists clenched like they always were but he seemed more frustrated than angry.

Atlöe grinned in that annoying impish way of his when Paul came storming back into the car. "So, what is she to you?"

"Shut up and drive." Paul snapped. "Aw, c'mon!" Atlöe laughed, speeding down the road. "I'm your buddy, Paul! You can tell me these things! I can help you!"

"The only thing you're good at helping me with is fixing cars." Paul shot back, feeling childish for even retorting to Atlöe's blubbering.

Atlöe threw his head back and laughed loudly, his morning-breath reaching Paul's nostrils, causing him to become even more annoyed. "Did you even brush your teeth?" Paul demanded, waving his hand in front of his nose to get the smell away.

"Oops, forgot to brush my teeth because my stupid bitch-ass co-worker had to get his ass up in a situation and had me drive him and his fuck-buddy-"

Before Atlöe could continue his sentence, Paul sprang forward and gripped Atlöe's shirt collar, fear causing Atlöe to stomp on the brake abruptly, the Camaro's wheels screeching.

"She is _not_ my fuck-buddy. Nor will you ever insinuate any of that kind of stuff about _her _or I will rip out your fucking teeth. You got that?" Paul threatened in a strained hiss, wanting nothing more than blast away the face that caused him annoyance since he started working at the garage a year ago.

"Yeah, yeah, I _comprendo, amigo_." Atlöe dusted off imaginary dust off his shirt when Paul released his grip on him. "Just wish you wouldn't threaten me all the time. I get this stuff, okay? I know how men and women relationships work!"

"Pfft. Name one lasting relationship you've been in." Paul scoffed. Atlöe frowned but scowled, "Okay, now you're just being mean." "My point is proven." The Quileute grinned smugly.

"So then what's your relationship to her?" Atlöe asked, his nose scrunched in confusion. Paul's smug grin was immediately wiped away and he rolled his eyes.

He should've known Atlöe wouldn't have dropped the subject so easily.

"Just shut up for once?" Paul pleaded angrily. "Hell no!" Atlöe exclaimed, his eyes wide as if shocked that Paul would even make such a request.

"I hate you so much." Paul said, seeming pained by Atlöe's presence. "You'd be nowhere without me." Atlöe nodded, his loud yawn causing his morning breath to reach Paul's nostrils again.

**Briella's POV**

There seemed to be butterflies fluttering their tiny colorful wings in my stomach when I said my goodbyes to Paul.

The back of my neck hurt from having to always look up at him, but the pain was worth watching his capricious expressions.

No one was home. Mum and Dad were at work (as was Christina), Stiofán and Conor at school. I never really liked having the house all to myself.

Despite having all the space of the house to myself, it always made me feel claustrophobic and paranoid, as if though I was being watched.

I had explained this strange fear of mine to my O'Brien grandmother Allic (pronounced "Ah-leece"), she explained the random sensations to me.

It was our O'Brien instinct sharpening, preparing for the full moon every month.

Frankly, it's not pleasant.

Every month, our mind is possessed by an animal, always a random animal, and the symptoms are horrible. I remember in my first month of the development of my gift, a shark possessed my mind. An entire week before the full moon, I spent hours in my tub, my gums hurt but no strange fangs came out. My bloodlust was increased.

After 'awakening' from the full moon, at dawn I found myself in the shores of the Ireland beach.

I shuddered to myself in embarrassment as I changed in my bedroom.

The old couple that had found me was so confused and offended that the police was called to send me away from their property near the shore.

I decided to leave a message to Mrs. Jay, explaining the situation although, for some strange reason, I knew she'd understand.

Hating the tingling sensations in the back of my neck, I decided to sit outside on the front porch. I grabbed my Ipod and went outside.

The weather was humid, the breeze felt sticky against my skin but the dull sun seemed to be beaming behind the clouds as tiny raindrops fell upon the greenness of La Push.

It feels good to take in deep calming breaths after being under so much stress from under the dark piercing eyes that make your stomach flutter with alien emotions, but the sharp senses disturbed me.

I shook my head, "Yer off yer heid." I told myself, chuckling before sitting on the hanging-seats and placing the earphones into my ears and playing Chopin.

Rocking gently from side to side, I closed my eyes and focused on my heart.

Grandmother Allic always told me that listening to your heart was a great way to prepare yourself for full moons. It rarely ever worked for me but it helped me relax.

I don't know how long I had been in that strange state of meditation but I yelped loudly when I felt something furry brush against my leg.

For a second, I had no idea what the strange ball of brown fur was but when it let out a soft mew I realized it was a kitten.

"Aw, who left you out by yourself?" I cooed. I picked up the little bundle of fur and placed her on my lap.

She trembled, her weak little paws stepping with graceful uneasiness as her tiny claws gently pierced my thighs as she walked.

"You lost, wee darling?" I murmured, placing her on my shoulder before taking her inside.

She mewed again when I placed her on the kitchen counter, "No, don't cry!" I chuckled as I opened a water bottle and poured it into a bowl.

"There. See? You don't have to be so scared all the time." I soothed down her brown fur as she drank.

"Just because your small doesn't mean everything bigger than you is dangerous." She looked up at me as I spoke with her enormous blue eyes and I felt my blood hum again in my veins.


	16. Always Knew You Would

"_**No matter what you do, someone always knew you would," **_

_**Ami McKay, **__**The Birth House**___

**Briella's POV**

The brown kitten (whom I had named Zahra) was lying on her back, trying her best to catch the shoelace I was swinging back and forth in the air.

"Wha's t'is?" I jumped but realized it was just my mother. "What are you doing home so early?" I smiled as I hugged my mother.

"I'm not sure I'm well." She sighed, giving me a knowing look. I nodded glumly and patted her back.

"I made tea. I'll serve you a cup." "Thanks, dearie. But who's t'is young fellow?" My mother picked up Zahra and smoothed her wild fur back.

"She's a cutie!" My mother exclaimed as Zahra purred and rubbed her head contently against my mother's hand. "I found her outside." I chuckled.

"She might 'ave fleas like!" My mother's eyes went wide for a moment before she shrugged, "Oh well, we'll just take her t' a vet o' somet'in'."

"Ye di'n't end up goin' to work after all hi?" Mum asked as she stood up and helped me get down the tea cups in the high cupboard.

"Who brought ye home too, hmm?" My mum raised her blonde eyebrow. "Paul Lahote." I muttered, turning away as I poured the hot water into the tea cup, keeping my hands steady.

"Is tha' a friend o' tha' Uley family?" She scrunched her nose. I nodded, silently handing her the teacup. She gave a strange grin as she accepted the teacup. "What's that look?" I demanded, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Oh, nothin'!" Mum blinked innocently but grinned again as she took a sip of her tea. "Mum!" I groaned.

"Was he good t' ye?" She asked a bit more seriously. I grimaced but felt an amused smile come up to my lips as I thought of the angry yet amusing expressions that would grace his face as he spoke.

"He's okay." I nodded. "Good." She nodded firmly. "I think we shoul' keep her." My mother nodded to Zahra, who was shakily making her way towards the kitchen.

"I think she came to me, mum." I confessed in a murmur. My mother's hazel eyes snapped up to meet mine but she nodded in understanding.

"Ye'll be fine, sleeven." She nodded.

"And you, mum?" I asked in a scared whisper.

"Why, I will be fine too, ye auld tattyboggle!"

The day was pretty quiet afterwards. Mum went to her bedroom to rest, and I was upstairs in my room with Zahra.

"'Being the invisible, most hurtful hosts. Yet the first words mine infancy did hear, the thing which my dumbness did appear'…" I quoted Thomas Traherne as I gently played with Zahra's little clear whiskers.

We both stiffened when we heard a wolf howl.

"Don't worry, Zahra. There are wolves all over La Push but I won't let them hurt you at all." I assured her, cuddling her closer to me.

The wolves continued, and I was surprised they were out at this hour. It was hardly even three o'clock yet.

I thought of the grey/silver wolf, his intelligent eyes reminding me so much of Paul.

"I hope he's okay." I murmured to Zahra, feeling a small smile come to my lips as I remembered Paul's fierce glares and amusing expressions, kissing Zahra's little head while she pawed at my loose hair.

She trembled again when a wolf howled close to the house. I rubbed her chin, remembering how the silver/grey wolf hadn't attacked me.

"We'll be okay."

**Paul's POV**

Frickin' Atlöe just couldn't seem to grasp the idea that I didn't need or want his advice on girls or on anything.

Although he was annoying, I was relieved that I wasn't alone at the garage. His annoying voice helped me keep my mind away from Briella.

"I see that strange focused-slash-dreamy look on your face, Paul." Atöe taunted again from across the garage.

"Shut up." I groused angrily, but I knew he was right. Somehow the wolf seemed to always bring up Briella to my mind.

"Why don't you just ask her out or something? Get it over with, ya know?" "Because I don't even know her." I snapped, not wanting to talk to him but knowing I wouldn't be able to help but retort back to him.

"Well, then _get to fucking know her_!' Atlöe exclaimed his eyes wide as if though he were suggesting the simplest solution. "Maybe I don't want to?" I challenged.

Atlöe turned to look at me then, his eyes wide in shock before he burst out laughing.

I simply glared at him with a bored expression, waiting patiently for him to stop laughing. But he never seemed to finish.

Soon, he was rolling on the ground, his jeans and hands filthy with grease and oil. "You'll have to mop the floor when you get back up." I warned.

He got up then, but his laughter continued. "Aw, man. Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh so much but I couldn't help it." He chuckled three minutes later, wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"You're fuckin' _Paul Lahote_, dude! Since when do you _not _want to get to know a girl that invades your thoughts every, what, like five seconds that I turn to look at you?" The bastard quirked his eyebrows in that annoying way of his.

I simply ignored him, keeping my eyes on polishing the wheel-rims but he pointed a screw-driver at me, "You're quiet 'cos you _know _I'm right!"

"I'm quiet 'cos I want you to shut the fuck up!"

"Ooh, someone's on their period!"

I growled, beginning to stand but he pretended to shake in fear, "Oh, no! Is Pauly gonna come and threaten to knock my teeth out of fucking head? Oh no, but he also might throttle me and wrinkle my best T-shirt and threaten to knock the breath out of my fucking lungs!" he squealed mockingly in a falsetto voice.

I began to shake then. Atlöe glanced down wearily at my shaking fists. He knew when I began to shake I was in a different level of anger.

"Okay, Paul, I was just joking. I didn't mean to insult your pride or _macho_ ego. No need to be so emotional all the time, okay? Just take in deep breaths, man."

What I hated the most about Atlöe was that he was probably the only one who could really get me to calm down. Him being a human and being clueless about the legends of La Push, I had to be discrete and so much more careful around him.

He always attempted to soothe me after riling me up, but I always found it unfair; like stabbing someone and telling them not to bleed.

"You're a fucking prick, you know that?" I growled between my teeth but sat back down.

"Yeah, it's true." He sighed forlornly but brightened up quickly in that annoying way of his. "But don't worry, man! You'll get that woman soon. You just gotta loosen up a bit. You're so fucking serious all the time!"

"Thanks for the tip." I said sarcastically but he failed to notice and simply nodded, beaming.

It was around four o'clock, when I arrived home, that I received a call from Abira.

"WAZZAP?" Her cheerful voice boomed through the speaker of the phone.

I laughed, having to hold the phone away from ear to keep my eardrum from exploding.

"Hey, Abi! What d'you need?" I asked. "Just wanted to know how you're doing, of course!" She laughed, "Nah, seriously, I hadn't heard for you in about, what, two days? I dunno, but I just wanted to check in on you."

"I'm okay." I shrugged, lying on my couch, stretching my legs. "What's up with you?"

No matter how small or awkward the conversations I had with Abira were, I always enjoyed them. They managed to relieve me of such stress and worries.

"Ugh, fucking work, that's what's up!" "Mr. Asshole still giving you a hard time, huh?" I chuckled.

Her boss, Mr. Acossta (a.k.a Mr. A, or Mr. Asshole) wasn't a quitter when it came to hitting on pretty girls in the company. He constantly called her up to his office for a 'meeting' only to end up asking her out.

"Yeah, and like, yesterday he set up a meeting for all of us assistants and manager's assistants to meet up and apparently all others had to cancel so I ended up being the only one there!" Abira paused for effect before adding, "He did the same fucking thing with Candace and Brittney yesterday and the day before!"

"What a prick!" I gasped sarcastically just to humor her but she either ignored it or never noticed it.

"I know, right? Gosh, it's like some guys just don't know when to quit! I bet you a million dollars he was dropped as a baby."

"Pfft, you don't have a million dollars!" I reminded her. "Well, _if _I had any, I would fucking bet it all on that." Abira said stubbornly.

"Fine, whatever, it's your hypothetical money so it's yours to spend as you wish." I shrugged. "Thanks!" She giggled.

"Are you okay?" She asked a bit more seriously after a little silence.

"What do you mean?" I frowned although the wolf's quiet and uncomfortable growls were enough to remind me what had been in my mind all day since the day I went to that fucking nursery to pick up Ava.

"Like, you seem like so down or focused on something. What's pressing your mind?"

"Nothing much." I sighed.

"Oh, c'mon, Paul! We've been friends since like, what, third grade?"

"Fifth grade, actually." I corrected her.

"Oh, okay so since the fucking fifth grade, whatever, but we're like fucking friends, Paul! We're fucking buddies, and fucking buddies fucking tell each other about all this fucking confusing shit!" Abira persisted.

"You cuss like your mother." I stated sourly. "Whatever." She sighed exasperatedly.

"If I try and guess, will you tell me?"

"Maybe." I nodded.

"Okay, I got this!" She chirped in that hyper tone of hers, I could practically picture her popping her knuckles and tensing her shoulders as she always did when it came to guessing games.

"Let's see…uh, is it a girl?" "Maybe."

"Aha! So it is a girl, isn't it?" "I said 'maybe'." I scowled. "You're a sore loser, Paul!" She snickered.

"Shut up."

"Well, what's going on with her? Are you trying to fuck her?" She asked.

Despite us being friends with benefits, we always spoke to each other about who slept or wanted to sleep with.

It might sound strange but that's how much of good friends we were.

"Not exactly…" I hesitated. Abira simply waited patiently on the other line, I could hear her breathing.

I knew that imprinting on Briella meant having to be committed, I mean, that's what imprinting is: finding your soul mate.

Perhaps Abira wouldn't want to continue being my friend after I (or if I ever) began to date Briella.

We stayed quiet for a while, although honestly, I was feeling better. Her foul mouth was what really brought a lot more charisma to her personality.

"Okay, fine, you win this one!" She sighed loudly, I could practically picture her throwing her hands up in that way she always did when she surrendered.

"You don't _have_ to tell me what it is, but at least let me know you're alright!"

"I'll be better than alright soon." I assured her. "Well, that's music to my ears!" She laughed then.

Every time Abira laughed when we were talking through the phone, I always had to hold the phone away from my ear. Her loud laugh was enough to pop anyone's ear drum.

"Ohmigosh, now that we're talkin' 'bout music, I have to tell you about this guy I met at the club on Friday!" She gasped as if it were vital that I hear her story.

I rolled my eyes but listened because listening about her 'adventures' was like a TV episode that you never want to miss.

By the end of the conversation, which lasted three hours, I felt much better and although we didn't talk about the topic pressing my mind, I felt more relaxed and peaceful.

The wolf's consistent growls quieted so that soon we were both pensive.

I fell asleep, and my dreams were filled with entrancing strange pools of green and with the sound of a beautiful melodious accent.

**Third- Person POV**

"Why must you torment me so?" Briella asked in a groan as she picked up a whining baby Jenna..

It was nap time for the babies, and Briella was falling asleep on her seat.

All these strange dreams of wolves kept her up all night, she even went to Christina's bedroom to try and sleep. Christina's soft snores never failed to make Briella doze off but last night was different for Briella.

She kissed baby Jenna's head as the baby leaned her forehead on Briella's shoulder, sighing tiredly. "Wee darlin', you know you can't sleep in my arms! You have to learn how to sleep on your own." Briella sighed, rolling her eyes but smiled as she patted baby Jenna's small back.

"You can just bottle-feed her, she'll fall right to sleep!" Mrs. Jay smiled fondly at the scene before her as she entered the nursery. "I think I'll try that." Briella frowned in concentration as her tiny arms struggled to shift the chubby baby from one arm to the other.

Mr. Catori and Julie were with the bigger kids in the Art classroom, they were cutting papers into the shapes of turkeys for the upcoming Thanksgiving.

It seemed as if though Julie were avoiding Briella, making her feel strangely hurt and alone.

What Briella didn't know was that, somehow, the news of Paul finding Briella had reached Mrs. Jay's ears through Emily and Kim and Mrs. Jay soon realized that Paul had imprinted.

Mrs. Jay, being the loudmouth she couldn't help but be sometimes, spoke to Julie and Jaime about how Paul rescued Briella, bragging how much of a gentleman he was and how sweet Briella was.

"What are you planning for Thanksgiving?" Mrs. Jay asked Briella as she tucked Annabelle's blankets deeper into the crib.

"Oh, nothing, I guess." "What? Nothing, you say?" Mrs. Jay's dark eyes went wide. "No big dinner or no family reunion?"

"All of my family is in Ireland or Scotland, and we have big dinners every day, Mrs. Jay." Briella whispered, smiling as baby Jenna's eyes began to close.

Mrs. Jay was quiet a moment. "Well, I'll go check on how Mr. Catori and Ms. Sanders are doing with the Art classroom."

Briella nodded silently, standing slowly to place Jenna back into her crib. She grimaced when Jenna began to whine again. "Yer aff yer heid, lass!" Mrs. Jay heard Briella whisper in a pronounced accent to Jenna.

Mrs. Jay chuckled, exiting the nursery.

"Hi, Mrs. Jay." Mr. Catori smiled as he passed by Mrs. Jay. "Hello, Jaime, how's your day going?" She smiled back.

"Gregory and George fought over a paintbrush so it's been exciting." He said sarcastically but Mrs. Jay laughed.

"Well, I'm going to make a quick phone call so I'll be in the lobby."

Mrs. Jay waited for Mr. Catori to be out of sight before she rushed to the phone behind the desk and immediately dialed Emily's number.

"Hi, Mrs. Jay!" Emily chirped on the line.

"Emily," Mrs. Jay gasped to catch her breath from all the sudden movement, "We have a party to organize!"


End file.
